Legend of Commando
by JadeDragon220
Summary: "One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night. But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light. Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, Then look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way." - The Highwayman, Alfred Noyes. [Currently Being Revised]
1. The Heist

I began writing this story when I thirteen. Looking back on it now, I'm no longer happy with most of it. So I'm going to be doing an edit of the entire thing. I hope any old readers I have looking through this fic will be okay with the changes.

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><p>I smiled as I examined the case of money that had been placed in my cool and collected hands by trembling, sweaty, nervous ones. "This <em>all<em> of it, old man?" I asked, my voice a careful monotone.

"Y-yes, that is all the money in the account you chose. Miss…?"

"My name is Commando." I grinned, tension going out of my shoulders. "And _we_ are the Highwaykids." I waved to the small group of boys and girls behind me. I'd chosen a small team, only three or so of my best soldiers. Some of them grinned when I acknowledged them, but they mostly just hung back and watched the exits. Mostly, their costumes followed a similar theme: black leather, with matching boots and leather jackets. Most of them had ditched the stealth gear I'd given them when they joined up. I didn't mind it much, as long as they didn't get too flashy. We looked pathetic, I knew. Little children playing dress up.

But hey, this guy seemed to be afraid of us. So we must be doing something right. I stepped back and knelt down, unlatching the case with a soft _click_. I had to work fast, the cops would be on us any moment now. The claret velvet cloak with the fancy golden dragon clasp draped over my shoulders sent a crazy shadow spreading across the room. I took a second to pull down my hood, smiling as my unruly dirty blonde hair fell down over my black domino mask. I loved my cloak, more than I should. It hid my tiny shoulders nicely, making me cut a slightly more impressive figure.

"This is good, _really_ good." I let my calm persona slip for a moment and ran my black, fingerless gloved hands over the money. I felt a brief stab of guilt, but I shook it off just as quick. I'd been careful. I wasn't taking away somebody's college fund or retirement. The man who this money really belonged to wouldn't miss it. He was so rich he probably wouldn't even notice.

I shook my head. I was being stupid again, making excuses. Of course he would miss it, no one can just _lose_ ten thousand dollars and not notice. Ten thousand dollars...that's a lot of money, but—I needed it more than he did. "Nice doing business with you, sir." I shut the case and stood, doffing an imaginary hat. I beckoned to my friends and pulled my hood back up, stepping over an unconscious teller (sleeping gas really is wonderful) and made my way across the room. My combat boots made an eerie _clack, clack, clack_ as I went. I had to keep up the cocky act, if the guys or the banker saw how tense I really was…

"You'll never get away with this!" the banker shouted. I rolled my eyes. Why was it that nobody got brave until I was actually _leaving_? "Whatever you say, pal." I said, not even looking back. I didn't have time for witty banter.

"Isn't it past your bedtime, girlie?" Everyone froze. The two boys who were cutting a hole in the concrete walls let go of the lasers—nearly zapping off my leg before they deactivated themselves.

"That's right, turn around slowly. Cooperate with us and no one gets hurt, alright?" This voice was different from the banker's, lighter and full of authority—used to being obeyed. I did as I was told, and faced my would-be captors.

There, standing casually in the doorway, were two heroes. One was a man dressed in a red full-body suit with yellow lightning bolts across the waist and wrists. He also had a yellow lightning bolt in a white circle on his chest and yellow boots. The other was a teenager, maybe two or three years older than me, with spiked-up red hair and emerald green eyes. His costume was yellow with red pants, red gloves, and a red lightning bolt in a white circle emblem on his chest. The teen also had shoulder pads and other padding on his costume, probably to act as shock absorbers if he crashed.

I felt my throat close up. It was Flash, fastest man alive, founding member of the League—and his sidekick, Kid Flash, some teenage boy I really didn't care about.

And they were here to arrest me.

"_Crap_." I breathed. "Just…_crap_."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sweaty Banker race behind the two speedsters. He squinted at me from behind his glasses and wailed. "Thank god you two are here." He dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. "Be careful. She's...unstable, I think. Not right in the head. She's a menace to society."

I winced, slightly. The old man looked like someone's grandfather. I didn't really care one way or another what he thought of me, really, but...it still hurt. I couldn't let them know that, though, so instead I twisted my mouth up into a sneer and clutched the case of money tighter.

"Stick around for a little while and you'll see truly how _menacing_ I can be."

"Woah, why don't we all just calm down for a minute, yeah?" Flash intervened, holding his arms up like a referee. As soon as Sweaty Banker realized the attention wasn't on him any longer, he turned tail and fled the building.

"...Alright, I guess its just us, then." He smiled at me. I wished he would stop doing that. Flash was known for his kindness and ability to talk almost anyone know. That was probably why they sent him to take care of this. They must've figured he'd be the most qualified to pacify a possibly mentally unstable little girl.

Honestly, it made me long for Sweaty again. At least with him I knew what to expect. Lost in thought, it took me a moment to realize Flash was talking to me.

"...Your name, sweetheart? What is your name?"

I closed my eyes, briefly. "My name is Commando."

Not the answer he was looking for, clearly, but he must've decided not to push it. "Okay then, _Commando._" He took a few careful steps towards me. "What are you doing here, huh? I know you don't really want to hurt anybody." A fair assumption, considering I don't use actual bullets.

"Actually, _Flash_." I grinned. "I think you might be wrong about that one." I raised my gun level with the hero, hand shaking. Flash's arm came out in front of Kid Flash, keeping him from darting out after me. The redheaded boy made an indignant little sound in the back of his throat, but didn't try again.

For a moment, the air stood still.

"Your move, kiddo." Was all Flash said, shrugging slightly.

My finger tightened around the trigger, and...fired at the ground by the speedster's feet. Smoke billowed out, quickly turning the room black.

"_Everybody out_." I hissed, backing up as quickly as I could without tripping over myself. I handed the case of money to a passing kid and kept going, not even bothering to look at the face. It was an unspoken rule, I suppose. I was always the last to leave, even if that meant they had to leave me behind.

No one argued. I could hear the heroes on my right, spinning around at high speeds to clear the smoke. I pulled a few more bullets out of my belt and threw them at the ground, figuring it would take to much time to reload, and tried to pinpoint the exact location of the heroes. I could see the tornados, of course. But it was hard to tell where the smoke stopped and the hero began.

I switched guns, deciding to try my luck with my new Shocker Bullets. They would give the victim a little shock on impact, not enough to cause any permanent harm, but if I fired them at close range it should be enough to render the heroes unconscious for a few precious minutes while we made our escape.

I looked up when I realized the smoke had cleared.

"Cute trick." Kid Flash grinned. "But... not very effective."

Ah. Cocky teenage boy. That, at least, was familiar to me. I shot at him, but the boy was already in motion. The next thing I knew I was being surrounded by a red-and-yellow tornado. The speedster's closed in, spinning away my oxygen. I collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, and they stopped—allowing me to have a second to recover. I knew they wouldn't really suffocate me, but my pounding heart thought seemed to think otherwise.

I gratefully gulped in the fresh air, but my relief didn't last long when I felt Kid Flash grab onto my hood.

"Give up, kid?"

Give up? I wish I could. Whatever the League would do with me couldn't possibly be worse than the hell I experienced on a daily basis. I aimed a punch to his stomach and swept his legs out from under him, using the opportunity to get to my feet. He didn't stay down long, but I was ready for him. The base of my gun made a sickening crack against his temple and the boy went down again. This time, however, he stayed that way.

Flash rushed me. He got my legs out from under me on his first try. I hit the ground hard, almost losing my hold on the gun. The speedster tried to kick the gun out of my hand, but I rolled away from him.

Suddenly, I screamed and clutched my knee, face twisting up in pain. My entire leg was bloody from the fall. I'd barely felt it, but Flash didn't know that.

His face softened and he reached out to me, gently touching my him by surprise I fired a shocker at his chest and watched him crumble to the ground next to his sidekick.

I sighed and looked down at the blood on my hands. Sirens wailed in my ears, but I paid them no mind.

"I'm sorry…" I said to the heroes, even though they I knew they couldn't hear me.

"I'm so sorry…."

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><p>I meant to be done with this ages ago, but it kept not saving on me and I had to rewrite a lot of it.<p> 


	2. Shut up, Cat Grant!

Another Chapter! I couldn't wait to post this!  
><strong>I do not own Lily Meadows, she was created by AmaraRae.<strong> Max, however, is mine. All you need to know about him is that he's little and cute and you should feel bad for him, because if you don't then you have ice in your veins.

I know Cat Grant was a news reporter, and I know she worked for the Daily Planet, that's it. If you wanna tell me any info about her, go ahead. But I just wanted to let ya know right now that I hate the woman. So, if I do any Cat-bashing, don't get all offended.

Disclaimer: Own nothing, wish I did:(

**NEED MORE OCS!**

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><p>"Do you wanna talk about it?"<p>

I smiled despite myself.

There was no 'So you shot a member of the Justice League and pistol whipped his sidekick? Are you insane!' no 'you know you basically screwed up our whole lives, right?'

Just 'Do you wanna talk about it?'

I gave my friend a weak smile.

"Nay, Lily, I'm okay."

She arched an eyebrow at me and gave me her classic 'you're-so-full-of-crap' look.

"Right, right. So your whole tussle with the Flash didn't rattle you at all?"

"Nope."

"Bull." She snapped.

"Now sit down and tell me the truth."

I scowled at her. Lily Meadows (Codename: Hightop) was my best friend, and second in command. I still remember the day I met her. There had been something in her eyes, something brave and intelligent, that I had liked.

Lily hadn't had an easy life, orphaned at a young age, being abused by horrible foster parents, but she made the best of it. That was something that you had to respect about her. She ran away from them. A little girl, scared and alone, had done something so incredibly brave it still amazed me.

I had found her sleeping in a cardboard box one day when I was seven and offered her a home. She'd been hesitant, but eventually accepted. Lily reminded me so much of myself it was scary…. Anyway, she didn't talk about her parents much anymore, and many didn't know that they were dead. They thought she was just abandoned, but she never stopped to correct them so there wasn't much I could do about it.

As my second-in-command, she and she only talked to me like that. I'm not an evil dictator or anything, but I do demand that my team has respect for me. And I make sure I'm worthy of it, too.

I flopped down on my old, beat-up, brown couch and sighed.

"Things are getting harder, Lil, really hard." I absently poked my index finger in one of the couch's many holes and pulled out a bit of fluff.

We were in The Office. It was originally supposed to be a storage area, but then it had become the leader's room, of sorts. I would go in there to take stock, and end up falling asleep. Soon Lily just put my mattress and the couch in there, telling me that I was going to ruin my back sleeping on the concrete floor. The other Highwaykids called it The Office because I often took kids in there to yell at them, and because I kept all my papers and documents locked away in various filing cabinets around the room.

"At least the heist was successful." She offered, waving towards the case of money sitting on the coffee table in front of me.

"It's not about the money." I frowned.

"Then what is it about?"

"The…the _League_." I sputtered.

"For years, we've committed crimes. But we've always slipped under the radar somehow, the League didn't know about us. And that's how I liked it."

"Jill, I seriously doubt the League didn't no about us _at all_." She said, sitting down beside me.

"We're too…_unique_…not to notice."

I knew what she meant. How many people are going to forget seeing a batch of gun-toting teenagers?

"Well, if they didn't know before. They sure as hell know now." I shook my head.

"And besides, we were careful, right? Okay, so the heroes saw us. But we disabled the surveillance cameras before we went in; we knocked out most of the witnesses before they got a good look at their faces. It'd be really hard to track down all of us with only the memories of three people."

"Really hard…" Lily nodded in agreement.

"But not impossible."

"_You're_ impossible." I shook my head at her.

Pale blue eyes locked into mine.

"I'm _realistic_, Jill. I'm making you think. That's my job, right?" She smiled a little.

I shook my head at her. Lily was nice and incredibly smart, but her cockiness ruined it.

"I know, and I know I have to do something." I sighed.

"I just don't know what yet."

"We'll think of something, we always do." She assured me.

I put my hand on Lily's shoulder.

"We can't do anything else until we take care of Max."

Max was an _unbearably_ cute little boy. He had bright green eyes that seemed to take up half his face and hair the color of sunshine that crowned the top of his sweet little head.

That was who the money was for.

"How is he?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Just checked on him, he's…well, he's no worse."  
>"Not exactly what I wanted to hear."<br>"You told me never to lie to you." She shrugged and ran her hands through her long, blonde hair with the light brown roots and under layers.

I smiled at my friend for the hundredth time that night. Lily was what kept me anchored, she kept me from becoming too cocky—even though she wasn't all together innocent in that respect herself.

Arrogance is why criminals get captured. It means the difference between freedom and imprisonment.

"Okay. So this is how I see it." I crossed my arms.

"We forge some papers, we pay some lady to pretend to be his mom—I'm sure I can find someone on the bad side of town who'll do it, we get Maxie to the hospital." I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"We wait until the docs are just about to release him and BAM—we break him out. A few more forged documents, a little covering up, and we're back in business." I tried to force a smile.

"And then we get the heck out of Central City." I finished with a nod, sounding more sure of myself than I was.

Lily's face fell.

I knew why, we were currently holed up in an abandoned furniture and electrical appliance warehouse. The old owners had packed up in a rush, and had left behind some really cool things. Mattresses, bunk beds, several mini-fridges, a hotplate, and even a generator. It was the best place we'd found so far, and no one wanted to leave.

"Look, Lily, I know that majorly sucks, but we both knew this wouldn't last forever."

"Two years, we've been here for two years." Lily looked at me sadly.

"This warehouse was just starting to feel like home."

"As long as I'm surrounded by my friends, I'm always home." I smiled, trying to put up a brave front.

But there were things I'd miss about the warehouse, too. Our small store of electricity, all the comfy (but moth-eaten) beds, the hot meals, The Office…We'd have to leave the majority of those items behind.

It's a tough life on the streets, but when we said goodbye to an object, something new would come along and take its place. It's a really cheesy cliché, I know, but it's all that kept me from getting depressed.

Lily took a deep breath.

"Okay, where to?" She asked.

I already knew. I had picked out a new hideout months before. When you're on the streets, you had to be ready to move at a moments notice. Sometimes I'd find out that the building we were staying in was scheduled for demolition.

Aw, so sad, time to move!

My only concern was the other kids. It never failed, every time we moved I'd have several stubborn kids come up to me and say 'but, Mandy, we gotta take it!' Or 'Come on, Co, we need this!'

I'd look at them, scowl, and say 'too bad.'

I didn't want to be mean, but I couldn't let them bring _everything_. We wouldn't be able to carry it all, and open spaces make me nervous. I hate not having a place to hide.

"There's this empty sporting goods store in Star City, it's a little smaller than this warehouse, and not as comfy, but there's a lot of leftover bats, baseballs, and other sporty crap. The little kids will have a blast!" I tried to cheer her as well as myself.

"How are we gonna get there?" Lily asked.

"Sewers, alleyways, I got the whole path laid out. Two big kids will partner up and take along two or three smalls." I nodded.

"We should all get there in about…two or three hours, maybe."

Lily got up, and clamped her hands on my shoulders.

"Sounds good, but for now you need to get some food in you and get a good night's sleep." She scolded.

I frowned at her.

"Stop treating me like a baby."

"Then stop acting like one." She gave me her famous 'Lily's-glare-of-death.'

"Lily, I…" Lily pulled away from me and disappeared into the other room.

She came back with two turkey sandwiches and an orange soda.

Lily shoved them into my hands and crossed her arms.

"Eat." She ordered.

I knew I was losing weight, I knew I had bags under my eyes from lack of sleep. But I was _fine_! I didn't need Lily becoming my nanny, I could take care of myself.

Feeling ridiculous, I took a bite out of the sandwich.

Then I started shoving both of them down my throat as fast as I could, I didn't realize how hungry I was until the turkey slices actually touched my tongue.

"Oh, that's attractive." Lily shook her head and pointed to my mayonnaise-covered cheeks.

I shrugged and took a swig of my soda before looking around for a napkin.

I found a forgotten newspaper lying behind the couch.

Picking it up, I let my eyes wander to the front page's headline...  
>I nearly dropped my soda can.<p>

"Lily, where'd this come from?" My voice sounded strange. Panicky and calm at the same time.

"One of our friends in Metropolis dropped if off, he said that you'd might like to take a look at it. I just gave it a toss and forgot about it. Why, what's wrong?" Lily walked over and peered over my shoulder.

"Well, _that's_ not good." She frowned at the tiny, water-smeared, print.

It was a Daily Planet paper, dated this morning, and it had in-depth coverage about a bank heist in Central City. I cleared my throat and began to read.

"_TINY TERRORIST TERRORIZES CENTRAL CITY: LEAVES WORLD SHAKEN, by CAT GRANT." _

"I wouldn't really describe myself as a _terrorist_, It's was just a lousy bank robbery..." I mused.  
>"Just keep reading!" Lily hissed.<p>

"_Yesterday evening disaster struck as a group of juvenile delinquents broke in and robbed a Central City bank. The banker on hand, sixty-five year old father of three and grandfather of five Charles Smith describes the young robbers as 'a danger to themselves and to others and should be given a serious mental evaluation."  
><em>  
>I took a deep breath, stabilizing myself,<p>

"Are you alright?" Lily asked, blinking in concern.

"I'll be okay…"

"_Flash and his young ward Flash Jr. intervened and attempted to stop the robbery. The leader of the criminal group ordered away her lackeys and engaged in a fight with the two heroes."_

"His name's not _Flash Jr_._!_ And they're not my _lackeys_, we're teammates!"

"Jill, she can't hear you." Lily patted me on the head.

"_The leader, identifying herself as Commando, took advantage of the Flash's compassion and faked an injury to lower the speedster's guard, then shot him in the chest with a tranquilizing shell. Flash Boy was taken down by a blow to the back of the skull, the boy claimed that Commando 'pistol-whipped' him, both he and Flash agree that it was a coward's move. Luckily, the speedsters were uninjured aside from a few cuts and bruises. But Commando escaped and is still at large..."_

"You know, I'm really starting to hate Cat Grant." I raised my eyes from the paper.

"Me too." Lily scowled.

"_Despite this, Flash claims to harbor no ill feelings for Commando. He says that she's 'Just a kid' and 'Doesn't know what she's doing.' Smith and other witnesses feel otherwise, and this reporter shares their anger and frustration. How can our children sleep safely when this criminal menace is allowed to run freely? The Justice League has added Commando to their Top Priority list. The minions shall be spared because it is very likely that they are simply victims of a frightening cult engineered by an obviously warped, thirteen-year-old girl. The League believes she is involved in numerous other previously-unsolved crimes and wants her captured and put into custody. Anyone with information that could lead to her arrest is urged to contact the police…"_

After that it just had a lot of mush about the Justice League and Flash being such a cool dude and _blah-blah_-_blah_, so I threw it against the wall in anger. The stupid thing didn't even make a satisfying noise.

"Hey, Jill, relax. I've read Cat Grant's stuff before; most of it is made-up crap that she heard from other jerk reporters." Lily took me by the arm and led me back to the couch.

I had wiped the mayo from my face sometime while I was reading and got it on my t-shirts sleeve. It would probably leave a stain, but at the time I didn't really care.

I pulled a blanket over my body and laid down, sighing.

"I want to believe that, Lily, I really do…"

"Besides, she doesn't know you. The League doesn't know you. They think they do because you pretend to be something you're not all the time. You need to stop pretending…" She frowned.

"Aw, Lily…" I looked at my hands.

"I know I need to stop playing make-believe, but I've been doing it for so long I'm afraid…I'm afraid I don't know how to do anything else…"

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><p>Uh, oh...the League's after her. Things are only gonna get worse. The next chapter may be from a member of Young Justice's POV, not sure yet. <strong>Need more OCS!<strong>

P.S: I'm a HUGE Wally/Artemis fan, did you guys watch Revelations? When Vertigo was hurting Artemis, Wally said 'Leave her alone' before he got zapped! I just love it!


	3. Nightmares

Okay, People! I'm updating quick because it's a weekend! Yea!

**OCS AND THEIR OWNERS:**

Lily Meadows and Mia: created by AmaraRae.

Avery Lake: Created by A Girl's Instincts.

Sammy Ridder: Created by NoctisLuci.

And of course Commando and Maxie are mine!:D

Just a quick FWI, the beginning of this chapter is a dream. I explain that, but I don't want people reading and going 'whaaaa?'

I use a lot of nicknames, here are a few I've used or will use for Commando: Mandy, Co, Coco, maybe more-I dunno yet.

P.s: If this chapter doesn't pull on your heartstrings at least a little, then I think I've failed at writing.

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><p><em>"You little brat, this is all your fault!" The furious woman shrieked.<em>

_The woman was tall, and would've been really pretty. But the booze killed her looks. Her once-sparkling dark blue eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Her jet-black hair was greasy and matted. The freckles on her nose stood our prominently against her beet-red skin._

"_But…but I didn't do anything!" I squeaked, my tiny five-year-old body shaking in fear. _

"_You're the reason Jason left me!" She roared. Jason, my stepdad and father of my little siblings. _

"_D-Daddy said he was leavin' cause you and him fight too much…" I whimpered._

_I had snuck into my little brother and sister's room when the yelling started, to try and make them feel better. But Mommy had a rule; I was not allowed to go in there. I was not allowed to play with, talk to, or even look at Mommy's 'good kids.' I never understood that. What did __they__ do that was so good? And what did __I__ do that was so bad? It didn't matter anyway, when Mommy left for work me and my siblings would play together until she got home. My sister and Daddy promised not to tell, and the baby was too little to know what we were doing. But that was before Mommy got fired and things around the house got worse._

_When Mommy found me holding two-year-old Dakota and four-month old Tyler in my lap after the fight was over and Daddy left, she freaked and dragged me into the kitchen. I wished Daddy would come back so she could yell at him some more instead of me._

"_First of all, he is __not__ your father!" Mommy screamed at me.  
>"And secondly, the fight was about <em>_you__**!**__" She ranted; there was no stopping her now._

"_Do you know what you've done to this family?"  
>When she said those words, I felt something deep inside my little mind go <em>_SNAP__!_

"_I didn't do anything." I said calmly._

"_What did you just say to me?"  
>"I. Didn't. Do. Anything." I did as Mommy said and repeated myself.<em>

"_Be quiet you little monster, you don't know what your saying!"  
>"No, Mommy, you be quiet!" My squeaky voice rose higher.<em>

"_And I __do to__ know what I'm saying! You blame me for everything! It's not my fault Daddy left! It's not my fault you lost your job! It's not my fault! It's not my fault...!" I kept saying that over and over until it was etched in my mind.  
>It's not my fault!<em>

"_How __dare__ you…!" She strode towards me._

"_Daddy loved me, Mommy, he did! And so does Kota! They told me so! Ty's too little to talk but he always crawled to me after you left when he wanted to be held! Me! __They love me, Mommy, and I love myself! I __don't__ need you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs._

_Mommy reached out and grabbed a hold of the front of my nightgown. She picked me up like that and threw me across the room._

_Mommy was really strong, she played baseball in college, and I was really little, so I soared through the air and cracked my head against the wall._

_Tears streamed down my cheeks as I reached behind me and touched my head. Not bleeding, but there was a really big bump there, and it was still growing. _

"_I hate you…" I whispered as I crawled on my hands and knees out of the kitchen to avoid my mother's rath._

"_And I'm __not__ staying here anymore!" When I reached the hallway I got up and scibbled off to my room. _

_Daddy left and so can I! _

_I was shoveling clothes into my backpack when I heard someone sniffling and __hic-hic-hic-ing at the door._

_It was Kota, and she had baby Ty wrapped in her little arms. _

"_Your leaving, just like Daddy." She said accusingly, tears in her eyes._

"_I gotta." I said simply._

"_You'll be fine, Mommy loves you and Ty. It's me she hates." I shook my head and pulled the money I got last Christmas from Grandma out of my piggy bank._

_Grandma used to invite us over all the time, before Mommy stopped talking to her. She called a lot, though, wanting to see us. She called and called until one day, she just stopped calling. Then Mommy and Daddy dressed up in black and went away for a few hours—leaving us with a babysitter. When they came back, Mommy yelled at me and Daddy before going to her room with a bottle of wine. _

_Then Daddy told me Grandma went to heaven with the angels, and told me not to bring it up anymore._

_I only had ten dollars, but that was like a fortune to me, so I packed it carefully in a little pink purse Daddy bought for me and stuffed it at the bottom of my backpack._

_Then little Kota sat Ty down and ran up to me, throwing her arms around my legs._

"_I love you, Jill, I know you gotta go for you to be happy, but I love you…" I hugged her back._

"_No matter what bad things Mommy said about you I knew they weren't true because I know you, Mommy only knows who you pretend to be…"  
><em>

_There was that word again, pretend._

"_When Ty gets big I'll tell him 'bout you, I'll teach him to love you even more than I do."  
>The words were so sweet, I hugged her even harder.<em>

"_I love you too, Kota, I love you too…"  
><em>  
>"JILL!" Lily shouted and roughly shook me awake.<p>

"Whoa, what? What happened?" I blinked away the fading images of my dream.

"You were twisting around and moaning 'it's not my fault, it's not my fault' in your sleep." She sat down beside me.

"Was it…_that_ dream again?"

That's how we talked about our nightmares of what happened to us as little kids.

_That_ dream.

It's funny how one word can hold so much meaning.

"No, no, I'm fine." I got up and rubbed my eyes groggily—and then I nearly ran right into Avery.

Avery Lake (Codename: Valid) was a girl of normal height—but she had an athletic build. She had dark black—almost purple—eyes that felt like they were looking right through you at your soul. The eyes of a killer, people said. If they were one of mine, I yelled at them. If they weren't, I punched their noses straight through the back of their skulls. I take care of my own. Her flawless ivory skin clashed dramatically with her long black hair—which she had tied up into a loose bun. When we suited up for a heist, she wore a dark purple sleeveless turtle neck and form fitting black pants.  
>She also wore designer white boots and old 80s cop-style sunglasses. But right now she was in her civvies, a simple tang-top and jeans. The one-inch long scar on her collarbone peeked out from under her top.<br>Like always, she said nothing, but waiting for me to make the first move.

"Um…..what's wrong, Av? Do you need anything?" As soon as I said it I realized it was a dumb question. If she ever _did_ need anything it was highly unlikely that she'd ask for help.

"Max." She said bluntly, then disappeared.

"What next?" I shook my head.

"What's wrong with Max?" Lily asked, walking over to me.

"She didn't say." I shrugged.

"Does she ever?" Lily pointed out.

No, she didn't. Avery had a dark past, the daughter of a minor villain, Ivory Bones, and an assassin-for-hire from the League of Shadows. Avery loved her dad because he was there for her growing up, but hated him from never doing things the easy way. Bones dreamed big, but he was too….incompetent…to pull anything off. But the man did one thing right. He had Avery.

Bones taught his daughter 'Phyc-Game.' It's this ultra-cool technique where you can get in your enemies head. Not a super power, but still very impressive. Her mother taught her that if something gets in your way, get rid of it. Not exactly a theory I approved of, but Avery was also fiercely loyal and would do anything to protect her friends, even if it meant losing her life. Her mother taught her hand-to-hand combat and the proper use of her gun and her small silver dagger—which she always kept sheathed at her side. She probably would've joined the Shadows, if her mother hadn't been killed by a fellow assassin—a sniper. As a result, Avery refuses to touch a gun. She ran away from home at age eight, and spent a year tracking her mother's killer. When she found him, nearly a year later, she confronted him. The 'talk' didn't go so well, and the assassin found himself with a dagger pressing up against his throat and a extremely ticked-off assassin girl in his face. She let him go before her dagger tore out the man's jugular, not wanting to stoop to his level. She left him to stew in his own guilt, and I didn't have a scrap of remorse for him. She joined my team at age ten, for whatever reason. I never pegged Avery as a team player, but she was arguably one of my best fighters, and she was an excellent addition to the team. I considered her a friend, even if other considered her a liability.

"I better check on him…" I shook my head and trotted over to the infirmary. Our infirmary was stocked with bandages, over-the-counter medicines, and several cots that doubled as sick beds.

"Come on, Maxie, please? Try to eat something…" Someone's voice beckoned from inside the room.

"I can't…!" A little voice whined.

"It _hurts_…!"

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

I saw Sam Ridder, more commonly known as Phoenix, hovering over Max's tiny form.

The ten-year-old boy's short, spiky, black hair stood straight up like a little boy's. The ends were died a radical shade of crimson, making his head look like a volcano. Sammy had incredible hazel eyes—almost golden. Very pretty, although that's not something a boy always likes to hear. His skin was pale, and he was tall for his age. Sammy wasn't muscular, not in the slightest, but he was quick and he had the incredible aim that I teach to every Highwaykid. He wore black jeans, an emerald-green with a black phoenix design on it. He also had a black jacket and a black-and-white converse. As Phoenix he wore a black, long-sleeved leather zip-up shirt with red stripes on the  
>sleeves, black leather pants with chains on the belt, black boots, a red<br>phoenix mask with a golden trip that covers half of his face and a black  
>hooded cloak with a phoenix bursting in flames on it. Sammy was talkative and funny, but also really shy when he meets new people. It took him nearly three weeks before he opened up to me and told me about his parents kicking him out of the house when he was eight. Although, Avery took nearly three times as long.<p>

"Hey, Sammy. Is Maxie eating?" I asked.

Sammy's great golden eyes looked up from the small boy.

"No, he says his stomach hurts too much. I've tried, Mandy, but…."  
>"It's alright; go help Mia and Avery sort out things we take, and things we need to leave behind." I told him.<p>

"So it's true…" He frowned.

"We're really going…"  
>"Boy, I don't have time for this! <em>Hurry<em>!" I shooed him away with my hands.

He stalked away, muttering something about bossy girls.

I walked over to Max's cot, giving him my best smile.

"Hey, Maxie, not feeling good still, huh?"  
>"No…" He whimpered.<p>

"Don't worry; we're going to the hospital today. The nice doctors are gonna make you feel better, alright?" I smoothed back the boy's hair from his sweaty forehead.

"Don't wanna go to the hospital." He sniffed.

I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I know. Neither do I, but it's only a one-time thing."  
>"Promise?" He asked.<p>

How could I promise something like that?  
>"Promise." I said, smiling like an idiot.<p>

"Now, get some sleep. I'll take care of you, I always will."

"I know you'll always take care of us, but when are you going to let someone take care of _you_?" A voice behind me whispered softly.

I whipped around and saw Sammy still standing in the doorway—with Mia.

I wish I could give you Mia's back story, but I don't know it. No one does. Mia, aptly codenamed Mouse, had dark brown hair that stops right above her waist. The ends of her hair curl in; her skin is a very-dark tan, suggesting mixed ethnic heritage, but who the heck knows for sure? She had bright green, innocent-looking, eyes. The girl was small and skinny, she looked like she was somewhere between seven and ten years old. Her past is a mystery, all I know for sure is that something bad happened, real bad. I know she was kept on a short leash, but if that was because her parents wanted to protect her or…or something else, is anyone's guess. She can have shorts bouts of rage where she becomes, almost, homicidal. Mia had tried to steal from me, something I am so _not_ okay with. I met her three times before I convinced her to join me, and each time she had nearly succeeded in robbing me. Nearly. I know I should do something about her, but what could I do? I wasn't about to throw her out into the streets, but when the girl barely says two words a month, how am I supposed to learn her history? I don't want to distrust her, but she's pushing it.

"What'd you say, Sammy?" I asked.

"_I_ said nothing." He gestured toward Mia.

I blinked in surprise.

"Mia, do you think I need protecting?" I asked. It wasn't an accusation, it was an honest question. If the girl was talking, I wanted to keep her talking.

"You need…help." She said.

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

Mia shifted uncomfortably on her feet before darting off unexpectedly.

"Well, I think I just botched that…" I sighed.

"Maybe she's talking about your dream, we all heard you." Sammy turned towards me.

"I…Sammy, it's just not something worth bringing up."

"Okay…" He nodded knowingly.

"That's okay…"

_How'd a ten-year-old get so dang profound?_

"Sammy, keep packing. I'll take care of things here."  
>He turned around, preparing to go and said.<p>

"She's right, though…"  
>Before I could get in another word he zipped off.<p>

"Jeez, what's up with everyone today? First I get Lily the therapist and now there's Dr. Sammy and Nurse Mia."  
>That earned a giggle from Max.<p>

I grinned, this time for real, and gathered the small boy in my arms.  
>"Okay, Maxie, time to go…"<br>"Everything _is_ gonna be alright." Max said.

I couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question, so I answered him.

"Of course, what could possibly go wrong now?"

* * *

><p>Commando, Commando, Commando...you never ask what could go wrong, because then things go wrong!<p>

So now you know Commando's history, and I introduced more OCs. If I let out some detail about them, relax because I'll cover it later on.

If any of you are going 'Wait a sec, what about the Young Justice team and the League, what are THEY up to?' Chill out, I'm getting to it. I'm building suspense, you guys know something's gonna happen, but you don't know what or when...hehehe, I'm a jerk.:D

I needed to establish Commando as a person before I go on. If you haven't been able to tell, I'm building a stroy arc around Commando's morality. Hero or Theif? What do you think? She's trying to save a little boy, and she's rescued lots of children from bad situations (The Highwaykids) but she steals and insults spandex-clad superspeeders. Kinda like the theme we've seen hundreds of times in movies, a teenage girl with an identity crisis. But Commando's tale has a twist in the form of costumed teenagers and velvet cloaks.

P.S: Let me just randomly tell you how much I adore Icicle Jr, I think he's so frickin' cute! And I kinda feel bad for him. I also like Kid Flash and Artemis. I also like Kid Flash and Artemis _together_:D

**KEEP READING! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Enter: Young Justice

Look, to tell ya the truth I don't much like this chapter. But it had to be written in order to set up the next part of the story. Please, no flames!

Disclaimer: Ocs are not mine, except for Maxie and Commando. Do not own Young Justice, either.

* * *

><p><strong><em>ROBIN'S VIEW:<em>**

I peered up at the giant monitor with interest. It portrayed an athletic-looking teenage girl with dirty blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and a lightly freckled she had the most arrogant grin I've ever seen plastered on her face. The girl wore a claret velvet cloak with something shiny holding it together under her chin. Underneath the cloak she wore a black shirt and pants. She had a gun gripped tightly in her right hand, two more strapped in holsters at her waist, and a third fastened inside a holster on her thigh.

"So..." I smiled.

"This is the little girl who beat you up, Wally?"

Wally scowled at me; he was still nursing the giant bruise on the back of his head.

"Dude! The kid's the same age as you!"

"So? She's still a _girl_!" I laughed.

"And that means…what exactly?" Artemis raised an eyebrow at me.

"Um, it just….I mean…..So Batman, what's the deal with this Commandeer girl?" I said in a hurry, trying to distract the furious archer away from me.  
>"Commando." He corrected.<p>

"Right, of course, of course…" I nodded fiercely—like I already knew the girl's name, but I just forgot for a second.

"As you all probably already know, she engineered a robbery in Central City two days ago."  
>"Yeah, it was all over the news." Artemis nodded.<p>

"What was the title of that dumb article by Cat Grant? 'Tiny Terrorist Terrorizes Central City'?"  
>"Leaves world shaken!" Wally quaked in exaggeration.<p>

Batman brought the newspaper article up on the screen, making Commando disappear back into the database.

"You all know what the media is saying." He told us in his usual monotone voice.

"The reporters don't seem _too_ upset about Commando's heist..." Aqualad observed.

"A teenage girl committing crimes? They are probably making quite a profit off of it."

"The merciless sharks that are the press are not the key issue…" Black Canary said, pressing a button on the keyboard.

"This is…."

On screen, Commando could be seen looking down at the unconscious Flash and Wally (in his costume, of course.)

"The bank's computer rebooted itself when the kids hacked into it, and we managed to obtain this little snippet of security footage." Canary explained before anyone could even ask the question.

Then she looked at Wally.

"Wally, what all do you remember about Commando's getaway?"

"She knocked me and Flash out, and then ran away, so what?" Wally shrugged.

"She didn't exactly just 'run away.'" Canary frowned.

TV-Commando knelt down and pressed to fingers to Flash's jugular and held them there for a moment.

"She's checking his pulse…" Superboy stated the obvious.

"But why would she…?"

"Shh, keep watching."  
>Commando turned to her right and did the same to Kid Flash. Then TV-Wally started to grumble incoherently under his breath, he was waking up. Commando's hand snapped away like she had been bitten, and she quickly jumped up and backed away from the speedster.<p>

"Police! Open up!" A voice shouted bellowed out of the speakers.

Commando rolled her eyes at the cop's obvious eagerness to abuse some authority before darting across the room and leaping out of the giant hole in the wall the children's lasers had made.  
>The clip ended then, clearly whatever hacker they had used to disable the cameras had regained control again.<p>

Wally reached up and touched his neck.

"Why would she…?" He shook his head.

"Why'd she even…care?"  
>Batman and Canary exchanged looks.<p>

"We don't know." Batman admitted.

"But we will find out, after Commando is in custody."  
>"You want us to go after her?" I asked, surprised.<p>

"No. She may be on the League's watch list, but she is not a priority this team needs to deal with."

"Then…why'd you show us this?" Megan's head tilted in confusion.

Batman said nothing.

Canary cleared her throat.

"We've become…interested…in this girl." He said carefully, like he was deciding what he should or shouldn't tell us.

"Well, then what _is_ our mission?" I asked.

Batman began debriefing us about a small seismic disturbance in Africa, but my thoughts kept drifting back to that girl.

What was so special about her anyways?  
>She was nothing but a petty thief, right?<p>

Right?

We got to Africa in no time flat, but when we landed we were created by two dudes in uniforms hiding in a shell-like structure. An antennae/robot arm thing protruded out from it and was sticking out of the ground. One of Weather Wizard's stupid earthquake machines. And an old model, at that.

It wasn't something a covert-ops team needed to handle; any moronic cop worth his donuts could've handled it. Still, we shut down the machine and arrested the two guards who thought it'd be fun to play with the boss's toys.

The machine wasn't even that dangerous, not really. It was too poorly built to do much damage, and there weren't even any nearby villages. If anything, the slight shifts in the ground were only slightly annoying the animals who lived in the forest. Only slightly.

We returned to the Cave, annoyed and frustrated.

"How dare Batman send us on such an stupid mission?" Superboy growled.

"He still doesn't trust us!" KF agreed.

Megan and Aqualad—the two calmest members of the team—said nothing, but irritation was written all over their faces. Artemis just growled and sputtered angrily to herself, no one dared interrupt her.

We were prepared to barge into the Mission Room and start chewing up batman when we heard voices echoing down the corridors.

Two of them were easily identified as Batman and Canary's, but the others were younger-sounded. Almost like children.

Or…exactly like children.

We burst into the room, wanting answers, and stared into the faces of four young children.

Young being a flexible term, because three of them were my age, but the only boy in the little group looked like a ten-year-old.

The girl in the center had blonde hair with brown roots and pale blue eyes; she had a certain air of authority about her that the others were responding too. The one on the left had dark hair and creepy-looking purply-black eyes and black hair tied in a bun, she glared at me when I tried to make eye-contact. The last girl, whose eyes kept darting back and forth anxiously, had straight brown hair with curly ends. The boy had black hair with the ends dies red, pale skin, and golden eyes. All of them looked liked they'd rather be anywhere else, but they were also seemed determined and unwilling to back down.

"Batman…?" Kaldur shook his head in confusion.

"What is…? Who are….?" Even the Atlantian was at a loss for words.

The girl in the center stepped forward and began speaking in a very calm, very confident voice.

"My name is Lily Meadows." She stated simply.

"My friend's names are Avery Lake, Sammy Ridder, and Mia. We're members of the Highwaykids. I am the team's second-in-command."

Lily's face twisted up in pain and desperation.

"Please, we….we need your help."

* * *

><p>So sorry about the short chapter! The next one will be longer, promise!<p>

No more Ocs, please! I have too many as it is, and I'm trying to fit them all in.

Question: Who here thinks I should do a Robin/Commando pairing? You see, I've seen a whole lot of Rob/Oc pairings, and I don't wanna do something that everyone's seen before. TEll ME WHAT YOU THINK PEOPLE WHO READ!


	5. Where the heck am I?

Another Chapter! Whoop! I'm on a roll. (I won't always update this fast, BTW.)

I'm going to fluctuate between Commando's view and member of YJ's view. Mostly Robin, maybe some KF. not sure yet:D

(Commando is not in her costume during this chapter.)

* * *

><p><em><strong>Commando's view.<strong>_

Dark.

That was the first thing I was aware of when I regained consciousness.

I was somewhere very, very, dark.

_Okay, brain, give me a little more info here._ I thought irritably.

I squinted into the shadows, trying to make out my surroundings.

No good.

Okay, sight is a waste of time, how about touch?  
>I spread out my hands and felt around. I was lying on a cot of some kind. It was lumpy and smelled like mothballs; the thin blanket over me was stiff and full of holes.<p>

My roaming hand smacked against something solid. A wall made of solid concrete. I felt several wet patches on the surface, showing that it had been made recently.

I blinked in the darkness, confused.

_Okay, Commando, what the heck happened here?_

I closed my eyes and tried to grab a hold of the scraps of memories floating around in my head.

Okay, I was taking Maxie to the hospital, I found this hook—er, nice lady who'll give gentlemen special favors for a reasonable amount of cash to pretend like she was our mom. She had been wary at first, but as soon as she saw the money all her doubt flew clear out the window. We were walking to the nearest hospital because I didn't want to risk a cab and then…then…

What happened next…? I couldn't remember.

My head felt like it was filled with cotton. I couldn't concentrate.

I frowned; lying here like an invalid wasn't going to help me figure it out. Time to get up.

I swung my legs out of the bed and grabbed a hold of the sheet to help pull myself up.

I winced, I had a few bruises along my abdomen and it hurt if I breathed too deeply.

_Not too bad, _I thought.

_It could be worse._

I stood up and tested out my legs, sturdy enough.

I stumbled around blindly until my hand hit a doorknob. I pulled on it and it opened about a half of an inch, before coming to a dead stop. I frowned; the crack in the door spilled a small ray of light into the dark room, encouraging me to try again.

Squatting down, I peered through the narrow gap and saw what was hanging across the opening.

My blood froze.

It was a heavy padlock, snapped shut.

A padlock…

"No…" I whispered.

The desperation and confusion that had carried me across the room faded away instantly, to be replaced with a cold sense of dread.

The cotton in my brain seemed to dissipate too, and my mind became as silent as the room.

Because until then, I had assumed that there must have been some kind of mistake. That this was some kind of joke the guys were playing on me—they'd done things like this to me before, after all.

But that padlock made me realize that this was no mistake, and that it definitely wasn't a joke. None of the others would go this far for a stupid prank.

Whoever had locked me in there had wanted me to _stay_ in there, whether I liked it or not.

I had been kidnapped.

The more I thought about it, the more panicked I became.

_Oh, no…_ I bit my bottom lip.

_Where's Maxie?_

"Max?" I called out softly, my voice sounded scratchy and sore.

"Maxie, buddy? Can you hear me…?"

Silence.

"Say something…" Again, no answer.

"Okay, if you can't speak, bang on something to show me you're alright…" The more I talked, the stupider I felt.

The only thing that could hear me was the walls and I seriously doubted that….

Someone started jiggling on the padlock, coming in.

_Crap_!

I whipped around and darted back to bed, nearly tripping and falling twice on the way there.

I almost made it, too, but the door swung open just as I laid my hands on the mattress.

"The mighty Commando's awake, now is she? Hmm, I expected that chloroform to knock you out for a bit longer, but whatever."  
>Not good, I was out of costume—and yet she had called me Commando. And that voice, so familiar—but how…?<br>"You." I turned around furiously.

Light streamed in through the open door, allowing me to see her and the inside of the room for the first time.

The woman I was staring at, I knew her. It was the hooker I had paid off, but she no longer looked ready to work the streets.

Her blonde wig had been removed—leaving behind dark brown hair tied in a neat ponytail. Most of the make-up had been washed off, and her narrow lips were twisted up into a smirk. She wore a nice dress shirt and black slacks apposed to her skimpy-looking cocktail dress from earlier.

"You set me up!" I snapped.

She rolled her eyes at me.

"Well, of course I did. How else did you think you got here? A magic carpet?" She laughed at her dumb joke.

"Anyways, it's actually I good thing you woke up. My employer wishes to speak with you."

I crossed my arms stubbornly.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm not feeling very chatty, so please come back later and we'll reschedule." I turned away from the woman.

Using the opportunity to examine the room, I noticed that there was a stall-like thing in the corner of the room. It had four walls and a lockable door, and I could see a toilet and a sink inside. A cracked mirror hung above the sink, and the utilities were rusty, a stark contrast to the freshly-made walls. Someone had wanted to simulate a jail cell as well as they could-but they didn't want to have to watch me...go to the bathroom. So, whoever kidnapped me wasn't _that_ kind of sicko, so goody for me.

But that wasn't the main concern. Someone had taken the time to furnish my cell with a bathroom and a bed. That was a clear indicator that they intended to keep me there for awhile.

It was good because I know that they wouldn't kill me—at least, not right away.

It was bad because then I knew that they definitely wanted something from me.

Exactly_ what_ they wanted is anyone's guess.

"Oh, sweetie. Haven't you realized yet? You have absolutely no say in the matter."

There was something in her voice, something cold and mean, that made me turn around.

I probably shouldn't have.

Three big guys in black grabbed a hold of me, and forced my arms behind my back.

I heard a sharp _snick_ as one of the men snapped handcuffs into place around my wrists.

As soon as I was secure, they released me. The one in the middle, a nasty-looking man with greasy black hair and a pointy nose, nudged me with his MK-47 (I know my guns) and sneered.

"Move it, girlie, we don't got all day."  
>I had no choice but to do as he said and march out of my cell.<p>

The woman and Pointy-Nose moved in front of the little band—obviously being higher-ups, while the two grunts brought up the rear.

I was steered through so many hallways I started to get dizzy, and if I lagged behind—even a little—one of the grunts would smack me in the back of the legs with their gun, making me stumble just to stay upright.

After awhile I figured out that they were taking turns hitting me, it was like a big game to them.

_When I get my hands free…_ I fumed silently as we continued to walk.

Then, finally, I was stopped in front of a door with a shiny gold nameplate on the front.

But before I could read it Ugly Goon #1 shoved me from behind, making me stagger forward. The woman opened the door for me and I kept going—into the room.

Somehow I managed to trip on my own feet and I landed, flat on my face, at the feet of the person who had ordered my kidnapping.

I got the air knocked out of me when I hit the ground and a spent a few moments gasping for air and waiting for my lungs to inflate so I could talk.

I heard cold laughter and someone's boot came down hard on the base of my spine.

After a few seconds of quiet chuckling, a heard a new voice. Calm, controlled, and in charge.

"Please, Mr. Monroe, you can play with our little friend later. But for now, we must deal with the business that's brought us all here tonight."

It was a man, his tone of voice wasn't unpleasant—but it still sent a shiver down the back of my neck. I only knew one person who could do that.

The boot left my back. I craned my neck upward to look at my captor, my lungs refilled themselves with air and I could breath easy again.

"Lex Luthor…" I whispered in disbelief, before painstakingly staggering to my feet.

The man's bald head gleamed in the light. He wore a fancy black tux and was holding a martini in his left hand. Luthor looked like he just came back from a party. For all I knew, maybe he did—the rich like to have their fun.

"Commando." He greeted me with a friendly nod.

"It's good to see you so looking so well. And how about all your little friends? Probably worrying themselves silly without their precious leader around."

He was teasing me, mocking my helplessness.

But there was something I had that Luthor could never take away from me, my sarcastic mouth and my natural ability to be the most annoying girl on the planet.

"My friends are fine, Lex, and how are yours? I'm really curious to find out how your boyfriend in red-and-blue spandex is doing." I smirked.

The whole crazy obsession Lex had for Superman was really weird, and I just couldn't resist pointing it out.

Luthor's smile disappeared, but only for a second.

"Cute, Commando. Very, very, cute." He smiled.

"I try." I shrugged.

"So let's get to the point, Lex, why am I here? Need someone to go skirt shopping with?"

Luthor's hand balled itself into a fist, but the confident smile didn't leave his lips this time.

"_Lex_? First-name basis now is it? You must not realize how much trouble you're in." He shook his head.

"No, no. That won't do at all. Call me Mr. Luthor, sir, if you must address me at all."

"Fat chance." I sniffed.

"Mr. Munroe…?" Luthor raised his eyes to Pointy-Nose.

I turned slightly, just in time to see Munroe's fist heading toward my face.

His blow connected with my chin, and the force was enough to knock me off my feet.

I barely had time to reach the ground before I was plucked from the floor by one of the lackeys and set back on my feet.

"Remember _that_ next time you have the urge to make a snide comment, girl." Luthor's voice was soft, but I could hear the barely-contained rage there.

One thing was certain to me; Lex Luthor was an _extremely_ dangerous man.

I used my tongue to check for broken teeth, nope—all still there and intact. But my lip had split open and I knew there was going to be a nice-sized bruise on my jaw by the end of the night.

The punch had hurt, _a lot_; I could still feel it throbbing. But I couldn't let Lex know that. I had to remain some vestige of control.

"Do you remember how you got here, Commando?" He asked evenly, as if nothing had even happened.  
>"I was taking Maxie to the hospital." I said simply, giving another shrug.<p>

"And…?"

_He knows I don't remember…_ I scowled.

_And he wants to make me squirm…_

"And your moronic associates brought me here, _so_?" I shrugged. It was a stab in the dark, and Lex knew it.

"Very well, since you're determined to be stubborn I'll fill you in." He smiled.

"Our mutual friend, Miss Stucco—" He nodded towards the woman.

"—stopped you and your little friend about half-way to the hospital. In an alley beside one of my Lexcorp buildings, conveniently, and pressed a chloroform-soaked pad to your face and you dropped like a stone. The boy, what's his name—Max? Screamed and cried and shook you, poor thing thought you had died. He even asked your unconscious body _not_ to be dead, of course you didn't answer, but…"  
>"Stop!" I demanded, closing my eyes.<p>

"Just…_Stop_."

"Stop? But don't you want to find out the end of the story? Don't you want to know what happened to Max?"  
>My eyes snapped open.<p>

"I swear, if you've hurt him, I'll…"  
>"Relax, Commando, Max is fine. Sicker than ever, but fine."<br>I took a deep breath, time to negotiate.

Luthor, look, Max is _just_ a little boy. He can't hurt you. The kid doesn't even know how to find his way back to our HQ on his own, for heaven's sake. He's not a threat, just let him go."  
>Luthor's eyes flashed dangerously—like a cat that had just caught its prey, and was about to deliver the final, killing, blow.<p>

"Let him go? If I do that, how can I be sure that you will help me?"  
>"Help you?" I blinked.<p>

"Please tell me what you think I can do for you, Luthor, because I honestly have no clue."  
>I <em>really<em> didn't, I was a street kid just barely scratching by. Luthor was a billionaire. What could I possibly do for him?

"This is about what you stole from me, girl."  
>My head spun, trying to find the answer.<p>

"You mean the money?" I asked, confused for the hundredth time that night.

"From Central City?" I didn't know whose money it was, there was a name, but I preferred not to know who I robbed. I think it was some dude from Star City, Oliver something, eh, who cares about a heist when you have a pathological maniac right in front of you?

"Money…" He frowned.

"You think this is about…_Money_?"  
>I stepped back a little; the hatred in his voice was intense.<p>

"Isn't it…_always_…about money?" I whispered.

"For a pathetic small-time crook it is!" He roared. Even Luthor's minions where getting scared, they were slowly edging away from his desk. Clearly glad not to be the target of the man's anger. Lucky I was an expert at getting yelled at, or I probably would've been cowering against the floor.

And, just like that, the fury was gone. His feature's settled back into eerie calmness.

I looked at him warily; his radical mood-swings couldn't be healthy. For either of us.

"Six months ago, you broke into one of my storehouses. There was something in there, a microchip. That chip held valuable…shall we say, activation codes. So, you see, I need the chip to finish a certain little project of mine."

I thought back six months, I did remember breaking into a warehouse to look for surveillance gear (Lily had convinced me to upgrade security) and there had been a microchip. Only one. It had seemed strange that there was only one chip amongst so much other technological devices. Too strange. So, I took it home and had it scanned. The scans showed a single line of print. A ten-digit code of some kind. I had no idea what it was for, and neither did any of the others.

"So, I need to know. What did you do with the chip?" Luthor's voice was tense—almost desperate.

I took a deep breath, looked him in the eye and spoke—with a nervous twinge in my voice.

"I broke it."

* * *

><p>She <em>broke<em> it. Now what? Luthor wants his codes, and he's got Max. TENSION!

Another random thing I'd like to tell you about: One of my fav characters is Red Arrow. I mean, have you _seen_ him? Really hot for a cartoon:D

_**PLEASE REVIEW!:D**_


	6. Why should we help?

There is something seriously wrong with me. Can't stop updating. I'm addicted to writing this story! _AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_! (Wait, Maybe it's not such a bad thing)

Just saying. I'm not sure I'm going to keep this whole 'chapter a day' thing. So don't go all _'awwwwwwwwwwwww'_ when I don't. :D

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><p><strong><em>Robin's View.<em>**

"Help?" The word popped out of my mouth almost instantly.

"Why on earth would we _help_ you? In case you've forgotten, you and the rest of your gang are _criminals_."

The one named Avery stiffened; you could see the anger in her eyes. If it hadn't been for Lily calmly placing a hand on her shoulder the girl probably would've decked me right then and there.

"Easy, Av, he's just a stupid boy. Not worth it." She soothed.

I almost opened my mouth to defend myself, but Avery had her hand hovering dangerously close to the dagger on her waist, and I decided against it. Besides, they weren't doing anything to us, not really.

"What kind of help do you need?" Megan, forever the nice girl, asked.

Lily sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them again, I thought I saw tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm sure you all know Commando?" When everyone nodded, she continued on.

"Well, she was taking a little boy name Max to the hospital yesterday—and that's the last we heard of her."  
>"That's it?" Wally scoffed.<p>

"You're all so worried about Commando because she's a little _late_?"

Sammy shook his head.

"No, it's not just that. Commando is...she promised she'd contact us when she reached the hospital…" He paused for a moment.

"And, well, she didn't…" He looked away from us then.

"Maybe she _forgot_." Wally said slowly, as if he was talking to a little kid—or an idiot.

"Commando? Not likely. She's really weird about her protocols..." The boy shook his head, a stab of annoyance creeping into his voice.

"What Sammy _means_ is—" Lily stopped to give the boy a sharp look.

"—Commando isn't the type of kid to just forget. She makes sure everyone knows where she is and where we are. Grant it, it is a little annoying and a major hassle but Commando just wants to keep everyone safe."

Wally still didn't look convinced, but he kept quiet.

"And we did consider the possibility of Commando forgetting, so we uh…." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.  
>"<em>Accessed<em> the hospital's database. Commando had a set of aliases drawn out, so we knew what to look for. The searches came up blank—meaning Commando never made it to the hospital."  
>"What do you think happened?" Kaldur asked.<p>

I gaped at him, he couldn't seriously be buying into this story.  
>"Maybe Commando just ditched this Max kid and ran off." I said, crossing my arms.<p>

This time it took all three kids just to hold Avery back.

After the girl had calmed down considerably, she glared at me and spoke in a low, even, voice.

"Commando is my friend. Insult her again and you and me are going to have a problem, understand?"  
>"Avery…" Lily warned.<p>

"_No_ Lily!" Sammy came to Avery's defense.

"Commando could be hurt, and were wasting our time chatting with some idiot in a cape!"

"Hey!" I cried indignantly.

"Stop…" Mia whispered desperately.

Everyone looked at her.

"Commando is…in trouble. We need to help her, if we spend any more time fighting they'll be nothing left of her to save."

"Mia, we know. But Robin here seems to think we're lying to him." Lily pointed in my direction.

"He's not the only one…." Wally mumbled.

Artemis elbowed him.

Mia raised her head and stepped forward.

"Commando was—_is_—a noble person. The thought of harming someone who didn't, you know, _deserve_ it, utterly disgusts her."  
>"What about <em>me<em>?" Wally snapped.

"Did I _deserve_ it?"

"She did check your pulse…" Superboy shrugged.

"What?" Wally frowned at him.

"She checked your pulse, what other criminal do you know of that would do that?"  
>Wally said nothing.<p>

"Kid Flash, Commando didn't want to harm anybody. That's why she spends so much time inventing bullets that neutralize targets instead of killing them. When she planned the heist, she never thought about the possibility of a hero showing up. She didn't _want_ you hurt, but you just got in the way."

The longer Mia spoke, the more nervous she looked. As if she had done something wrong. She seemed to get smaller and younger with every word; she now looked about Sammy's age. Maybe younger.  
>"That's why she checked your pulse, that's why she only uses trick bullets. Because if Commando killed someone, even by accident, it would kill <em>her<em> as well."  
>"Why'd you even do it?" I asked.<p>

"What'd you need all that money?"  
>Lily smiled sadly.<p>

"Listening now, are we? It all goes back to Max. The poor kid's gotten sick, _really_ sick. Commando tried to put it off, but she's not an idiot, she knows when it's time to face facts. And the facts were, if she didn't do something quick—Max was going to die. And no matter what anyone could say, she would blame herself. We looked up his symptoms and we had an ex-doctor that owed us one come in and look at him."

"_Ex_-Doctor?" Aqualad frowned.

"He was sued for malpractice, lost his license—it doesn't matter." She shook her hand dismissively.

"Anyway, he said that it looked like Appendicitis and that it'd cost a pretty penny to take him to a doctor. And we needed money to get the documents forged and to hire someone to pretend to be a parent for a few days. We needed quick cash. So, Commando planned the heist. Everything went pretty smoothly—except for your arrival, Kid Flash—and then when everything was in place, she grabbed Max and set out for the bad side of town to look for a hooker or some other desperate person looking to make a quick buck. I think she found someone, and got herself and Max kidnapped by them."  
>"So…a hooker kidnapped your friend?" Artemis quirked an eyebrow.<br>"No, no…" She shook her head.

"That's the final part of the story, we went looking for Commando, thinking the exact same thing. We found her communicator blinking out a distress signal, buried in a dumpster so no one else but us would find it, about 10 feet from a nearby Lexcorp building. On top of that was a note…" She pulled out a little bit of paper from her pocket and unfolded it, smoothing out the wrinkles on her leg.  
><em>She keeps her very important papers in her pocket?<em> I thought to myself.

"It's brief, but to the point." She cleared her throat and began to read.

_"If you come after them, your friends die. Don't worry, though. As long as she cooperates and gives me the microchip no harm will come to either of them.  
><em>  
>Then she handed it to Aqualad to prove she was telling the truth.<p>

"A warning?" He asked.  
>"More like a threat. To keep us from going after her-and to make sure meet with the demands when Commando cracks and agrees to give him the chip. Which, is impossible, considering Commando destroyed it." Lily corrected.<p>

"What's so important about this microchip?" I asked.

Lily's eyes darted to Batman, and he gave a brief nod.

"Well, we don't know for sure but…Sammy has this theory."  
>The boy smiled nervously and began to speak.<p>

"Well, I was one of the hackers who scanned the chip and it's…very complicated. Didn't make sense at the time. But now it makes sense, if you compare it with some of Lexcorp's recently-purchased products…"  
>"You think that Lex Luthor kidnapped Commando?" Superboy squinted at him.<br>"Well, yes, I was getting to that, but thanks for stealing my moment." He said, pouting.  
>"Keep going…" Lily urged.<p>

"Anyway, for the past year, Mr. Luthor's been snatching up every single piece of technology he can get his hands on dealing with particle obliteration—you know, machines trying to kill bacteria—and several machines that decode DNA strands and analyze your genes—FBI stuff. He claims he wants to start line of Lexcorp pharmacies, and a Lexcorp criminal investigation precinct to 'further assist the county.' If you look at all the info and presentations he has, it's actually very believable. But I think that with those technologies together Lex could, in theory, isolate the meta-gene found in every superhero—that includes most of you—and well, blow up their cells. It would happen quickly, and would leave no trace of a body. It would merely appear that you disappeared if anyone saw it happen, and Lex is prepared to support any crack-pot theories that the media could come up with. The first run would only affect North America, and maybe some of the South. But the next time? Maybe the whole world." Sammy looked at our horrified faces.

"But, it's only a theory. I only know what I learned by hacking into Luthor's mainframe. And by typing 'LEX LUTHOR' into the Google search engine." He admitted with a shrug.

"Sammy…." My voice sounded squeaky. "In theory, how close is Lex to finishing his particle destroyer?"

The boy's face was grim. "All he needs are the activation codes."

* * *

><p>Dun. Dun. <em>Dun<em>. Told ya things were gonna go wrong! So now we know all about Lex's 'Project.' Problem is, Commando doesn't! What if she gives him the code! Can she even remember it? Why am I asking you all these questions? It's a good reason for Young Justice to help, isn't it?

Did anyone else think that Robin looked like a blind kid when you first saw him in his sunglasses? Red Arrow pulled it off better, I think:D


	7. I've got to get out of here!

Update! Hehehehe, love writing this fic:D

Okay, this chapter is a little dark. Things will get better, don't worry!

Thanks to all the people who reviewed! Love you guys!

P.S: Just finished watching Humanity, at first the Zantanna flirting with Robin thing annoyed me. Then I thought 'Wait, a Commando and Zantanna fighting each other over Robin sounds _EPIC_! I want to know what you guys think, sound cool?

* * *

><p><em>I am so frickin' screwed, Lex was already ticked; now he's probably homicidal.<em>

I winced as soon as the words came out of my mouth. Of all the things I could have said, I chose _that_. Why didn't I say something like '_I don't know where it is'_ or _'I don't know what your talking about'_ or….just about _anything_ else would have been better!

But no, I just had to open my big mouth and tell him that I _broke_ it.

At first, Lex wasn't even mad. He just stared at me like I had sprouted a second head.

"You…broke it?" He asked quietly.

I nodded, slowly inching away from him. I didn't know when Luthor was going to explode, but I sure didn't want to be caught in the blast zone.

As it turns out, I didn't have to wait very long for an answer.

"YOU BROKE IT!" He screeched, his voice rising to a girly pitch. I almost laughed at him, but I didn't because, well, Lex can be one _scary_ dude when he's mad.

Lex Luthor wasn't the calm, collected, guy that appeared on the news almost every night anymore. He was someone else now, someone unstable.

And he had the full force of his anger directed at me.

Perfect.

"Why are you mad at me? _I'm_ not the one who left a _very important_ microchip in a warehouse where _any_ group of gun-carrying teenagers can grab it, _stupid_!" I snapped.

Wrong thing to say.

Lex reached out, blinded by fury, and grabbed a hold of my shirt collar. He hefted my body in the air and slammed me against the wall. His fist pressed into my throat, constricting my breathing enough that I started choking. I tried to kick him, but he held me at arm's length and my stupid legs weren't long enough.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"

I knew I should've been scared, but all I could think was. _Wow. Luthor's pretty strong for a spoiled little rich boy._

Yeah, my brain does weird things when it's under stress.

"YOU BROKE IT?" He asked again, even though I'd already answered him twice. Luthor was beyond logic now. It took me a few moments, but I realized that he actually _was_ expecting an answer.

"I…" I began, and felt Luthor press harder against my windpipe.

"WHAT?" Lex's eyes flashed murderously.

_Quick! Say something clever, something that'll calm him down!_

I opened my mouth but no sound came out.

_Okay, it doesn't have to be clever! Just say words, Commando, say some words!_

"I...didn't know what it was. So, I-I smashed it. With a hammer—was actually kind of fun."  
>Lex's face quickly turned from red to purple. <em>Yeah, should've just kept my mouth closed. <em>

"A _HAMMER_?" Lex had heard enough.

He threw me to the ground and stomped over to his desk. He drank the rest of his abandoned martini in one gulp, and then reached for his liquor cabinet with a shaking hand.

From my spot on the floor, I rolled my eyes.

_Typical billionaire playboy—doesn't know how to deal with stress, so he drinks. Pathetic_

Luthor produced a bottle from the cabinet and set it down gently on the desk—like it was extremely fragile. Just out of curiosity, I squinted at the label. It was a 1992 Screaming Eagle. Good stuff, it's a must-have for a lot of wine collectors. But it's insanely expensive—prices for it have soared to over $7,000. And that's per bottle, not per case. (Please don't ask how I know that…)

"Shouldn't that be in a wine cellar?" I helpfully pointed out.

Luthor glared at me like he didn't give a damn where he _should_ keep his wine.

He poured himself a glass and quickly drank it. The next he savored for a bit longer. When he reached his third he was calmer, but he didn't look so—_alert—_anymore.

"Get her…outta my _s-sight_." His words slurred together.

We were all happy to oblige, but right before we were about to set out again Luthor stopped us.

"Munroe!" He growled.

"You can…for…forget about the promo…the promo…the raise." Luthor was sipping on his fourth glass, or was it his fifth? I had lost count.

Even though it was merely the coo-coo ramblings of a drunken idiot, and there was a very good chance that Luthor wouldn't even _remember_ this conversation, Munroe looked horrified.

"But _why_?" He whined.

I rolled my eyes again, Munroe sounded like he was a giant six-year-old. I half-expected the moron to throw himself on the floor and start kicking.

"Because…of... _her_." He pointed at me.

_Thanks for that, Lex, I __so__ needed you to give that trigger-happy psycho a reason. _I eyed up the man's gun warily.

"Until I get my c-chip…you…can _stay_ where…you are." Lex stood, but he seemed a bit unsteady.

Munroe pouted before grabbing me by the arm and roughly shoving me through the door.

We got back into the little formation that we'd been in on the way over, but this time I held back a little more. I hovered between the two groups like a magnet, I didn't want the goons giving me any more bruises on the back of my legs, but I didn't like the dark looks that Munroe kept shooting me. I figured that he was prepared to give me a whole lot more than a bruise.

_Stupid drunk, all of my problems in life are started by alcohol!_

"That was rather melodramatic, don't you think?" Stucco slowed her pace so she was walking next to me.

It took me a moment to realize she was talking to _me_.

"Lex always did have a flare for the theatrics." I told her.

"My cell, for example. Freshly-made walls, rusty utilities. Trying to mimic a prison cell, but there's a stall covering the bathroom—so that must mean there's a surveillance camera in there somewhere. Lex is a lot of things, but he's not a pedophile."

She smirked.

"Very observant, I can see why you're the leader of your little gang."  
>I shrugged, why did she seem so interested anyway? For a second, I glanced back and saw the goons walking a good five steps behind us. They were clearly scared of Stucco, so I had no delusions that this woman wanted to help me.<p>

"You're right, you know. Lex isn't a cradle snatcher. But Monroe over there is a different story…" She lowered her voice so only I could hear. I shivered at what she was suggesting, but then I realized _why_ she was talking to me. She was trying to freak me out, a simple mind-game. One she wouldn't win.

"I'm not scared of _him_." I whispered fiercely.

"No? Well, you should be…" she said ominously.

"Why should I trust _you_?" I snapped.

"Because I'm the one who has less of a reason to want you dead."

"Well _gee_, that sure is comforting, _thanks_." I glared at her.

"All I'm saying is Lex wants you to give him the codes—or he'll kill you. But then he'll never get them and he'll blame the person who's in charge of this whole kidnapping operation—Munroe."

"But you're the one who…." I began.

"Actually pulled off the kidnapping? Yeah, I know. But Munroe likes to throw his weight around and ordered me to do it. Anyway, Munroe wants the promotion to head lackey—or he'll kill you to make himself feel better. But, if he does, then Luthor can't get his codes, and blame Munroe."  
>"So Luthor gets mad at the jerk, so what?" I shook my head.<p>

She grinned maliciously at me. "That's the great part about it; Munroe won't take it lying down. And the man seriously hates Luthor-he just works for him because the man pays well. All he needs is a reason."

All the little pieced fit together in my head.  
>"And since Lex has armies of people backing him up…" I paused and looked into her cold, soulless, eyes. "Munroe will die."<br>"No doubt about it."  
>"And you'll take his place."<br>"_Bingo_, we have a winner!" She laughed gleefully. "So you see, it doesn't matter which one kills you. I still win."

I thought for a moment. "But what if I give him the codes?"  
>Stucco smiled at me like I just said something so incredibly stupid she could've even make fun of me for it.<br>"Kid, we both know you don't remember them. And even if you did, Luthor would just kill you and your little friend afterwards. Sure, it'll put a damper on my plans. But I'll just think of something else, all I need is an opportunity. Those men are mad dogs, and sooner or later, mad dogs take each other out."

I hated to admit it, but it was a good plan. And no one could even blame her for it, because it would be Lex and Munroe's own stupidity that caused it. But for either plan to work, I would have to die.

"What if I escape?" I asked her. "Escape? There is no escape. If you try you'll end up with a bullet lodged in your brain, _have fun_…!" She turned away from me and hurried to walk next to her partner.

_I have to escape. _The thought etched itself into my brain.

_I have to escape._

_I…have…to…_

I nearly ran right into Munroe when he suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall.

We had reached my cell, oh joy.

Munroe reached into his pocket and pulled out a keychain. He fingered it hesitantly and started trying to push keys through the lock.

_He doesn't know them apart…_ The gears in my head started to turn.

"What's taking so long?" Stucco growled.

"Not my fault all the damn keys look alike! Where's the master key?"  
><em>Master key? Like one that will open all the doors in the <em>_whole__ building? _My heart hammered itself against my ribs.

Stucco grumbled to herself and pulled a key from her pocket. It was small, and black as ebony. I stared at it intently, I needed that key. Nothing else mattered.

Stucco reluctantly handed over the key and waited as Munroe stuck the key in the padlock. The lock came off in his hands and he threw open the door dramatically.

"Here ya go, princess, your suite awaits!"  
>I scowled at him and didn't budge until one of the goons shoved me.<p>

I stumbled into the room, but somehow managed to keep myself from falling. Stucco dismissed the guards and held out her hand for the key. Munroe smiled and patted his back pocket.

"Nay, I think I'll keep it. Along with the fancy keycard Lex gave me."  
>Stucco looked surprised.<br>"He gave _you_ a keycard?"

"_Yes, ma'am_, that means the promotion is as good as mine!"

"Didn't Lex say you can just forget about the promotion?" I pointed out.

Both adults glared at me, I swallowed nervously.

_Me and my big mouth._

"Mr. Luthor said that I'll get the promotion when he gets his codes, girl." Munroe hissed. "For your sake, I suggest you don't keep him waiting."

I felt like screaming, I couldn't _remember_ the stupid codes! It was _six months_ ago—and even then I didn't really even _look_ at them! Stucco turned away and stalked down the hallway, furious at not getting her way.  
>I expected Munroe to leave too, but he didn't budge except for when he gently closed the door with his foot.<p>

For one brief, horrible, second I thought that Stucco had been serious about Munroe and I had a mini-heart attack. But, as he advanced towards me, he didn't seem like he wanted to do…that…he just seemed angry. _Really_ angry.

"You're gonna pay for what you did, runt…" He spat.

"What? What'd I do?" I frowned, I honestly had no idea.

"You cost me my promotion!" He growled. I nearly laughed; the jerk was still laid up on _that_. I couldn't believe it.

But when Munroe pulled a handheld taser out of his pocket, it wasn't funny anymore. He clicked in on and the end buzzed and crackled with bluish-yellow electricity.

My heard skipped a beat, for a second my whole body froze. He took another step and my brain started to work again.

"Come on, Munroe, let's not do this…" I smiled, trying to pacify the man. His chest was heaving with anger, his whole body shook.

_Shit._ I cursed in my head. _Shit, Shit, Shit..._

Monroe wasn't like Flash, he couldn't be tricked with a false injury, and he _definitely_ wasn't going to go easy on me just because I was a kid.

_Okay, options. What are the options?_

I had no options. My hands were cuffed, no one here gave a crap what happened to me, and I had a kook with a stun gun standing within spitting range.

Munroe blamed me, just like Stucco said he would. But just how far would he take it?  
>"You can't kill me!" I forced a laugh, it sounded scared and uncertain. "Luthor <em>needs<em> me, kill me and you'll get fired!"

Munroe gave me a smile that never reached his eyes. "I won't kill you, I want you to suffer. I want you to suffer for what you did to me!"

Munroe's fist came down hard on my shoulder, My body collapsed and I slid to the ground. As soon as my body hit the ground, I felt the taser's tip came down on my stomach and the electricity coursed through my body.

I gritted my teeth and thrashed around, trying to get away from Munroe and his taser. He laughed and clamped his hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place.

The pain was excruciating, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Munroe's hand left my shoulder for a moment and turned up the gun's voltage to fix that particular issue.

I couldn't hold it in anymore; I threw back my head and screamed in agony. My voice sounded otherworldly, almost animal.

Munroe howled with laughter as my shrieks grew louder.

"Had enough, brat?" He said between giggles. "Go to hell!" I roared, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to shut him out. I felt the taser leave my torso. Curious, I opened my eyes to see Munroe slowly stuffing it into his jacket pocket, almost like he was dissapointed.

_The gun's out of juice._ I smiled triumphantly. "What are you laughing at?" He barked.

Munroe was standing over me; I was in no position to push my luck, but…

"You're so _pathetic_." I shook my head. "You're mad at Luthor, so you're taking it out on me. What are you, _nine_?" I chuckled.

Munroe rewarded my comment with a kick to the gut, I doubled over in pain and laughed again."Thanks for proving my point…"  
>Another kick, this time harder.<p>

My face twisted up in pain, but I didn't stop. "There, Munroe, you hurt me. Do you feel better now? Does smacking around a thirteen-year-old make you feel like a big man?"

Munroe ripped me off of the ground with one hand and set me upright on my feet. He didn't let me go—but he didn't throw me back on the floor, either. "Just _shut up,_ brat, it'll save your life!"  
>"I don't think I can!" I giggled like a maniac.<p>

"_Shut. Up_." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"_I. Don't. Think. I. Can." _I repeated, doing a near-perfect imitation of Munroe.

I may have pushed him just a bit too far.

Blows rained down of my head and shoulders, I felt my knees give out under me but Munroe had such a death-grip on my shirt that I stayed on my feet. My hands were tied: I couldn't fight back, I couldn't protect myself, I couldn't do _anything_. I hunched over as best I could to try and shield my face and my collarbone. I didn't let myself scream again, I wasn't about to let the sicko have the satisfaction. One of his punches caught my cheek and made my head snap back. With my face exposed, Munroe gave me a quick rabbit-punch and sent bright pops of blue and red sparkling in the corners of my eyes.

_Another one of those and I'll get knocked out… _"Munroe." Stucco's voice snapped the man out of his blind rage. Stucco was standing nonchalantly in the doorway, a new set of keys in her hands—I still have no clue where she got them.

Munroe glanced at my bruised and bloodied face and gasped, a look of horror spread across his face as he realized he had come _this close_ to killing his boss's prized captive.

"W-What?" He stuttered out a reply.

"Lex wants you." She stated bluntly.

"For…?"  
>"The man's drunk out of his mind, I didn't ask." She shrugged. Munroe released my shirt and I slumped to the ground like a broken puppet,<p>

I was too tired and too injured to care where I landed. Munroe scurried out and I breathed a sigh of relief. _Anyone_ was better than Monroe, even Stucco. Stucco walked over to my prone body, I could hear her shoes _click-clacking_ across the concrete floor.

"Get up, on the bed..." She gently nudged me with her toe. "Go away…" I mumbled.

"Do you want me to tend to your wounds or not?"

My head perked up. "What?" I thought I'd heard her wrong.  
>"I'm gonna clean you up, but you need to get your face off the damn floor." She spat. Reluctantly, I rose to my feet and cringed against the pain. I hobbled over to my cot and sat down. Stucco pulled out the first-aid kit she had tucked under her arm and approached me.<p>

I eyed the door eagerly; she had let it open…

Stucco saw what I was looking at and laughed. "Go ahead, kid, run. In your condition, you'll make it about five feet."

I knew she was right, so I let her dab my wounds with antiseptic. She pressed bandages onto the thicker cuts while she muttered angrily under her breath.

"Stupid shit, should've left the _face_ alone. Now Luthor will expect something…" She pulled back and examined her work.  
>"Not bad—at least, no worse than usual."<p>

I glared at her, pure hate radiating out of my eyes. "Why'd you even _bother_?" I questioned harshly.

Stucco smiled evilly. "Lex needed Munroe before he could finish the job. And the _last_ thing I need is for you to die of infection."  
>She packed up her supplies and quickly left the room. The door slammed shut, throwing the room back into darkness, and I heard the padlock snap back into place.<p>

I only relaxed when I heard Stucco's footsteps fade away into nothing. I flopped backwards on the mattress, sighing.

_I've got to get out of here!_

* * *

><p>Scary chapter, but interesting to write. The next chapter will be Robin's POV, I think. Commando's trying to figure out a plan, and Young Justice will be working to save her. But will they get her out in time?<p>

**_Review for me! Love Feedback! No flames!_**


	8. What it's about

UPDATE! HAHAHA!

I don't own any Ocs, or Young Justice.

ENJOY!

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><p>I pulled away from the Cave's computer and rubbed my eyes, exhausted.<p>

We'd all be working on a rescue plan for days, but Luthor had Commando well-hidden.

We assumed she'd been taken to the nearest Lexcorp building, but a hunch isn't enough to act on. We needed proof. No heroes had spontaneously combusted, so we knew that Commando didn't give him the codes. But we also didn't know if Commando was alright or not. Their leader was the Highwaykids's main concern. Sure, they didn't want the superheroes to die. But every other word that came out of their mouths was 'Commando.' I couldn't really fault them for it. I mean, I didn't want Commando to end up dead. But I couldn't make myself worry about her, either.

Lily was focused and determined, Sammy was trying to cope with the kidnapping by working hard, Avery was just plain angry, and Mia?

Mia was in major freak-out mode. She always stuck by one of her teammate's side and didn't speak. In fact, I hadn't heard her say a word since our first meeting.

I stopped in the kitchen for a snack, I needed to refuel.

I froze when I noticed the Highwaykids clustered in the living room.

Sammy was playing a videogame on the flat screen; Lily was wrist-deep in a bag of cheese puffs, Mia was napping on the floor, and Avery was sitting on the couch beside Sammy, polishing her dagger.

I shook my head at them. They were supposed to be _criminals!_ And yet, here they where, sitting around like house guests!

I forgot about my snack and stalked into the room.  
>Sammy craned his neck to see around me and Lily stopped eating. Besides that, no one else moved.<p>

"Why are you all hanging around while the rest of us are working to try and save _your_ friend?" I snapped.

Lily frowned, Avery's hand tightened around her dagger, and Sammy's game made a _blip-blip-blip_ sound as his character died. Lily put down the cheese puff bag and approached me.

"Batman told us stay in the living room while he sent the rest of _your_ team on a little Intel side-mission."  
>"They didn't go on a mission." I barked. "They would've taken me with them."<p>

Lily smiled cockily. "_Actually_, Batman said it was best to let you keeping playing on the computer since you've been so hostile towards this whole thing." I looked at her like she should be shipped off to the wacky shack. She had to be lying, I thought.

"Don't believe me?" Lily picked up on my disbelief. "Ask for yourself." She gestured to the hallway that led to the training room. "  
>"Bats left, didn't say where, but Black Canary is in there programming a new training course." She informed me.<p>

Everyone's eyes (Except Mia's) were on me, they wanted to see where this was going. So did I.

I did as Lily said and hurried to the training room. Black Canary stood in the center of it, working on her handheld with her eyebrows knit together in concentration.

"Robin." She greeted. "Would you like to get some extra training in?"

_Would I like to get some extra training in? Is she serious?  
><em>"Where is everybody?" I asked.  
>"Small Intel mission, nothing major. They're checking out that Lexcorp building. They disguised themselves as students going on a Lexcorp tour so they could say that they had gotten separated from the guide if they were discovered." Canary didn't even look up.<p>

I gaped at her in amazement.

"Without me?"  
>Canary's eyes finally lifted from the small device in her hands. "You have been a little immature about Commando's kidnapping. Batman decided it was for the best to leave you here where you could keep trying to figure out a way to stop Lex's machines."<p>

"But…if they find Commando." I sputtered.  
>"Yes?"<br>"Then they can free her and all my work would be pointless!"  
>Canary walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder.<p>

"Robin, I know this is upsetting. But even if by some miracle they locate her, they still have to return to the Cave. Intel mission only. They are not to get involved, at least, not yet."

"Why is everyone so worried about Commando?" I asked.

"I can understand why her friends would be, but what about the team? The girl's a _thief_!" Canary smiled knowingly and sighed.

"That right there is exactly why you were left behind. You're a good kid Robin, and you know that no one deserves to die, but you think everyone with a gun is pure evil."

I thought about if for a moment.

"She robbed a bank."  
>"To save a little boy's life."<br>"She shot Flash in the chest and smacked Wally in the back of the head with her pistol."  
>"And then she checked their pulses."<p>

"But…" I began. "She's….a criminal."  
>Canary laughed. "It's not every day that the boy wonder is at a loss for words, is it?"<br>I shook my head, this whole thing was crazy.

"Commando is just a _girl_, Robin. A girl _your_ age. If it wasn't for the fact that she robbed a bank you'd be as worried as the others."  
>I wanted to defend myself, but I couldn't. Canary was right.<p>

"Think about it, Commando's probably scared out of her mind right now. And what about Max? We're not even sure if he's alive or not."  
>"I see what you mean." I told her. "But I still don't like it."<br>"Why don't you talk to Commando's friends?" Canary suggested.

"They're good kids, when you get to know them a bit." I turned away from her then and walked back down the hallway. Even if I didn't want to talk to those kids, there was no other way back to the Mission room.

"Well…" Lily grinned at me as soon as I appeared in her line of sight. "How'd it go? Are we still liars?"

I almost walked right past them, but something stopped me. I walked into the living room instead, and stood directly in front of Lily.

She seemed surprised for a moment, but then she smiled.  
>"You gonna answer me, bird boy?"<br>"Why'd you become thieves?" I asked bluntly. "If Commando's such a good person, then why does she steal? Why'd you go along with it?"

Lily sighed and looked at me with her pale blue eyes. "Commando's been a thief since she was five years old. And she's always hated it. Honestly, Robin, a kindergartener can't exactly get a job, so what else could she do? She had to steal. Everyone that she takes in is given a choice, she asks them if they want to help her steal or not. She never forces anybody. We don't go along with it. We decide that it's what we need to do and we do it. It's as simple as that."

I nodded, but there were things that still didn't make sense in my head.  
>"What happened to her? I mean, kids don't exactly just end up on the streets for no reason."<br>Lily shook her head at me. "I can't tell you _that_, it's too…personal."

"Oh...Okay…" I mumbled. _Man_, this was awkward. Thankfully, I was saved by the Cave's computer recognizing the team and letting them in.

I sighed in relief and sprinted to the main entrance. Batman stalked right by me and up to the supercomputer, he immediatly started typing furiously on the keyboard.

"What's going on?" I asked Wally.

"We managed to tap into Lex's surveillance cameras. The feed doesn't last very long, but we know where Commando is now."

There was something about his voice, something ominous, that stopped me from asking any more questions. The Highwaykids entered the room, looking anxious.

"Did you find her? Is she okay?" Lily asked desperately. Batman said nothing for a moment, but then he spoke in a voice he rarely used when dressed as Batman. A voice touched with concern.

"We need to examine the video feed that the team acquired." He said. "It's rather…graphic. Are you sure you want to watch it?"

The kids exchanged glances. "Yes." Lily nodded.

"For Commando." Avery agreed. Batman nodded and pressed a single button, The video began to play.

The screen depicted a Lexcorp hallway. The camera moved back and forth, making a large arc.

"A hallway?" Mia frowned She spoke too soon.

Horrible, agonized screams—a _girl's_ screams—blared from the speakers—making everyone jump. They seemed to be coming from one room in particular, so that's the one I focused my eyes on.

In between the cries of pain we could hear maniacal laughter, someone was hurting that girl—and enjoying it.

"Had enough, brat?" The voice, a man, asked. "Go to hell!" The girl roared in reply.

The video ended, the screen faded to black. I turned to the Highwaykids, who were standing in a protective huddle—trying to comfort themselves and each other at the same time.

"Was that….her?" I asked. "Yes..." Lily was fighting back tears.

"The screams I didn't recognize at first—Commando never screams, at least, not like that. But when she said 'Go to hell' yeah, that's classic Commando." Sammy nodded sadly.

"Someone…" Avery fumed, pulling out her dagger and twirling it in the air like she was imagining it was the man's guts. "Is going to pay for this…"

"Team…"  
>Batman got everyone's attention. "This is now a high-priority mission. The sooner we get Commando out, the better."<p>

I nodded in agreement. This wasn't just about the superheroes, I glanced at the Highwaykids. I understood that now.

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><p>Yeah! YJ knows where Commando is now! But will they reach her in time...?<p>

_**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**_


	9. The Master Plan

I love writing this fic! Love the feedback! Will ignore flames!

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><p>I was once again roaming my cell—trying to figure out a way out.<p>

I kept smashing my shins against the stall doors. If only I could see, then I'd be able to find an escape route. I leaned over and rubbed my sore knees, my legs were probably one big bruise by now. I decided to look for a light switch. I narrowed my eyes in the dark, thinking. Did I see a light bulb hanging over my head when Stucco opened the door and I got a good look around? I wasn't sure, but at least it was something to go on.

I stretched my arms high above my head, wincing in pain because of my injured ribs, and started to feel around the air. I felt stupid, but I could tell that the dark was starting to get to me. I wasn't sure what Lex would do with me if I lost it, but I knew it wouldn't be good. When I started to move around my foot caught on the stall and I tripped, falling on my face and scratching my arm on the metal door.

_Add __that__ to the list of superpowers I don't have: Infrared vision._ I thought bitterly and scrambled to my feet. A wave of nausea flooded over to me and I leaned against the stall to keep from collapsing.

I rubbed my temples and groaned. _You know you're having a bad day when just standing up is a challenge. _I knew I hadn't eaten in awhile, and now I regretted skipping all those meals when I was at home. I don't know whether I was just delusional or homesick or what, but I pictured Lily's face scowling at me and saying _'I told you so, stupid.'_

Remembering my friends cheered me up a bit and I managed to slink back to my bed.

_Okay, I need a plan. Fast. _I leaned against the concrete wall and crossed my arms.

_Problem numeral Uno: The padlock. All I need is the Master key and I can probably maneuver my fingers through the gap in the door and unlock it._

A nice thought, but not very realistic. What was I going to do, kindly ask Munroe to give it back? Yeah, _no_.

_If by some miracle I get the key, I would need to dodge the guards until I found Max and got the heck out of there. _

I tensed my body experimentally and frowned.

_Stucco was right; I'll be grabbed before I can make it halfway down the hall. I'm hungry, tired, injured, and…_

I reached up and touched my forehead with the back of my hand.

_Yup, feverish too. That's just __great__._

I needed to think this through; my first priority was to find Max. So how should I go about that, ask? Maybe…if I can find someone dumb enough to trick. Stucco and Lex were out of the question, they might've been insane—but they weren't stupid. Munroe had the intelligence of a tree stump, but the man coming back to my cell would mean another beating. And I couldn't count on Lex to stop the next one, so I quickly dismissed the thought.

_What about the goons?_ I smiled to myself.

Yeah… I was sure they could be tricked. The jerks were hired muscle, pure and simple. They were paid to move heavy objects and push people around, two activities that require absolutely _no_ brainpower. I slid soundlessly off the bed and crawled on my hands and knees across the floor—not wanting to risk another knee-meets-stall incident.

I pulled open the door until the padlock stopped it. Then I squinted through the gap and saw one of the guards leaning against the wall across from me. He was smoking a cigar and fiddling with his holster, clearly bored.

"Hey…" I called out.

"Hey you…" I said a bit louder.

The man's eyes snapped down to where I was kneeling and he scowled.

"What do ya want now, brat?"

I blinked at him, tying to hide my frustration. _What did I want __now__? Because I had been bugging him for hours, right?  
><em>I knew I couldn't go right on out and ask, that would be stupid and pointless, I needed to find a way to ease into the question. So he would answer me and suspect nothing.

"So…Stucco put you on guard duty?" I asked, making my voice sound shy and innocent.

"Munroe…" He growled.

I shifted excitedly on the floor, he answered me. That was good.

"Why doesn't Lex make Munroe's lazy ass do it, I mean, the man is supposed to be in charge of my kidnapping, isn't he?"

"Lex got drunk and passed out on his fancy leather couch, Munroe can do whatever he wants for now." The man yawned and took a long drag from his cigar. The smoke made me want to cough, but for this to work I had to stifle the urge. I focused on how he said 'fancy leather.' The moron was clearly jealous of Lex's money, and I needed to act on that.

"Lex and his wine, do you even know where he got that stuff?"  
>The man shrugged in response, so I continued.<p>

"Probably online, Screaming Eagle sells for over $7,000 anymore, did you know that?"  
>He grunted, losing interest.<p>

"Hey…how much does Lex pay you?" I asked.

The question clearly took the guard because his cigar almost dropped right out of his mouth.

"What?" He frowned at me. "I said, how much does Lex pay you?" I repeated, struggling to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

He was so thrown off by the question that he told me and I shook my head, pretending to be disgusted. "Are you kidding? They pay school janitors more than that! You shouldn't have to stand for that!" I scowled.

It took a moment, but he got that look on his face too. It took all the willpower I had not to laugh hysterically, the idiot was easier to manipulate than a puppet! No wonder Lex kept him around!  
>I took a deep breath before I continued, here was the hard part. The part that's easy to mess up.<p>

"You gonna do something about it?" I asked him.  
>The guard looked at me like I was physic or something.<p>

"Do you think I should?"  
>"YES!" I exclaimed.<br>"It's _just_ like I always tell my little friend Max! If you truly want something, then you need to destroy anything that gets in your way…" The guard's eyes were locked on me, like I held all the answers. I had him hooked—and now he wanted me to keep talking, to keep telling him how to rise to the top.  
>"At least, that's what I used to tell him…" I looked away sadly.<p>

The guard looked desperate; he thought I was going to disappear back into the darkness of my cell and take my answers with me.

"Before Luthor…." I sighed in fake despair.

"Killed him…" I bowed my head and started to turn back around.

"Killed him? No, no, he ain't dead! The boy's locked up three doors down, he's sicker than a dog, sure. But besides that, he's fine! Now, keep talkin'…"  
>For the next hour or so, I chatted with the man. I told him how such a smart and handsome man like him shouldn't have to be reduced to a mere lackey, and how big of an idiot Luthor was for not recognizing his talents. The words flowed like honey from my mouth and I had the man so high on self-importance he was almost panting. I couldn't believe it had worked, and he didn't suspect a thing!<p>

_We learned one thing today; false compliments will make the stupid do whatever you want…_I smiled to myself.

Finally, the man let me go to sleep. I could hear him muttering about rising to the top and quoting some of my inspirational phrases as I pulled the blanket over my head. I was so excited I had to suppress my giggles with my hand. I now knew where they were holding Max. The plan was slowly coming together…

I slept for two, maybe three, hours before I heard a loud banging on my door.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes sleepily, not in any hurry to meet whoever was at the door.

_Bang, Bang!_ Whoever it was smashed their fist against the door again.

I grinned to myself. I knew I should've just let it go, but….

"Who's there?"

"It's me, brat, who'd you think it was?" Munroe's voice growled from behind the door.

"It's me, brat, who'd you think it was, who?" I asked, false eagerness creeping into my voice.

"It's…._what_?" Munroe sounded angry and confused at the same time.

"Well, _that's_ not very funny at all. Don't you know any other knock-knock jokes? I do. Stop me if you've heard this one: _Knock-knock_!" I called excitedly.

"Shut up, kid, if you know what good for ya…"

"No….you're supposed to say _'who's there?' _You know, you're not very good at this game…"

Munroe had gotten the padlock off the door while I was talking, and he stormed into the room—holding a McDonald's bag in his hands.

"Is that for _me?_" I asked in a sickly sweet voice.

He glared at me, I smiled back.

"It's too damn dark in here…" He complained, reaching up to pull on a chain. The light bulb it was attached to clicked on and lit up the room. I gaped at it like it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen.

"Ah-_hah!_ I knew there was a light bulb in here!" I pointed to it, grinning.

"Good ole' brain, you've done it again." I tapped my temple with my index finger.

"Funny…" He rolled his eyes and shoved something into his jean's pocket.

I focused on the pocket. He had his other keys stuffed in there too, plus the keycard.

I had to stop my eyes from rolling; he was making this _too_ easy! I wasn't complaining—but still…I reached out to grab the food but Munroe pulled it away at the last second, teasing me.

"And what do we say?" He asked, using the babyish voice that only dumb adults use with very small children. I saw my opportunity presented to me on a silver platter.

_Munroe, you __truly__ are an idiot…_I thought happily.

"We say, GIMME IT NOW, _BITCH_!" I threw myself at the man and tried to wrestle the bag away from him. Munroe's fist slammed into my back and I fell to the ground, moaning.

He threw the bag at my head, and then stalked back through the door.

I tensed; here was the part where everything could go wrong…

Munroe pulled out his keys and sorted through them, becoming more and more frustrated with each second.

"Where'd that Master Key go…? Wasn't it the black one..?" He frowned.

"I thought it was silver…" The guard behind him asked.

"Nay, it was copper…" I propped my head up on my hands.

"Definitely copper…" I smiled at the two men.

"Oh, _whatever_!" Munroe threw the keys at the guard.

"_You_ lock the brat in; I have more important things to do…" He snapped.

Munroe stormed off, and the guard started to do as he was told. But even thought the man was stupid, he could tell the keys apart.

"Huh? The Master Key ain't here…" He frowned.

"Oh, _please_. Munroe probably lost it already…" I rolled my eyes.

"But _you_ can tell the difference between keys…" I smiled admiringly.

"Yeah…" He nodded.

"I bet the other guards can, too." I lowered my voice so he would have to listen hard.

"Yeah…" He nodded again. I had the man singing my tune…

"None of you should have to put up with him…You all should…." My voice trailed off.

"Should what…?" He asked.

"You should…rise up." I grinned devilishly.

"Show Lex and Munroe what's what. Go on strike!" I slammed my hands against the ground.

Then I gave him a list of instructions. What to say, how to say it, and—most importantly—_when_. But I made it seem like the whole thing was _his_ idea, the dude was actually giddy because he thought _he_ had come up with such a good plan. It was almost laughable.

_Words are power._ I thought, funny how true that old proverb was…

He locked the door—He wasn't _that_ stupid—and took off down the hall.

I smiled and dug a cheeseburger out of the ripped McDonald's bag. The burger was a little squished, but the paper around it had protected it from getting dirty.

I took a big bite of the burger, the Master Key and Munroe's keycard tucked safely inside my pockets—I had reached inside the man's pocket when I lunged at him and…_relieved_…him of them. What kind of thief would I be if I couldn't pick an idiot like Munroe's pocket?

All I had to do now was wait until all hell broke loose.

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><p>Commando's plan is in ACTION! But somethings gonna go wrong, because that's how I write this fic!<p>

**BOLD MAKES PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION! Question: I would love it if someone would do fanart for this fic. I wanted to, and I was all exited about it, but then I went 'Oh, silly me, I can't draw to save my life!'**

**Seriously, if you saw me during Art Class you would laugh hysterically. My friends do...(Glares at evil friends...) If no one cares, that's fine. I'm not gonna cry about it, but if you do want to let me know and I'll tell you the kind of pics I want, Kay?. You could put them on deviantART or some _other_ fanart website...because my computer freezes every time I go on deviantART for some dumb reason. Yeah, technology hates me...**

**I'll look up your other works, though. To see if I like how you draw...(Stares at you intently.)**


	10. If you're here, then where is she?

Hello people! I know I havn't updated in awhile, sorry I had this dumb project in school and I had to babysit and...yeah, sorry.:P

This is kinda before Wally started getting closer to Artemis, so ignore the bickering. I will do Spitfire, but it'll have Commando's meddling in it.:D

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><p><em><strong>Robin's View<strong>_

I took a deep breath and tried to focus on what Aqualad was saying. We were in the Bio-Ship, flying towards the Lexcorp building. Aqualad was giving us a quick debrief, because Batman was busy talking with the Highwaykids and couldn't do it.

It was nighttime, we couldn't risk a rescue mission during the day. Luthor was cocky enough to have his employees continue business as usual while he held a thirteen-year-old girl prisoner.

Aqualad was telling us that Commando was probably in the lower levels, because low-ranking Lexcorp employees rarely go down there, and the area is completely shut off from the public. There were several storage rooms labeled 'empty' even through the ones around them were full, and Luthor had all the veteran guards patrolling those corridors as if there was something valuable there. It sounded suspicious.

I hated the plan, if you could even call it that. It was too sloppy—but everyone had agreed that we couldn't wait any longer than we had too.

And what'll happen when we find Commando? Will she be badly injured, maybe even bleeding out? Or will we find her corpse?  
>I shook my head, I had to quit being so morbid. It was freaking me out.<p>

"So overall the plan is rather simple." Aqualad's voice cut through my thoughts.

"We get in, get Commando, and get out."  
>"What about the guards?" I asked.<p>

"Subdue them if necessary." He said.

"We can send the police in to arrest them on kidnapping and battery charges later."  
>I nodded.<p>

"Um…Aqualad?" Kid Flash asked.

"Yes?"  
>"So…we get Commando and then what? Take her to a hospital, a police station, or…?" His voice trailed off, waiting for the Atlantian to finish the sentence.<p>

Aqualad sighed.

"Batman had instructed us to bring her back to the Cave; Martian Manhunter will be waiting to tend to her injuries."  
>Everyone exchanged glances.<p>

"The _Cave_?" Artemis frowned.

"But….she's…."  
>"Why?" Superboy questioned bluntly.<p>

"I…do not know." Aqualad admitted.

"He hasn't told me."

We glanced at each other again, the look on our faces said.

_He didn't tell __Aqualad?_  
>"It doesn't make any sense." Megan shook her head.<p>

"Batman wants us to bring her back to the Cave, he said that the League's taken special interest in her…"

Kid Flash grinned.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, Megalicious; I'm sure he'll explain once we get back."

Kid Flash had that stupid smile on his face; I swear I saw him start to drool.

"Hey Kid _Moron!_ Get your tongue off of the floor and focus!" Artemis snapped, scowling.

I rolled my eyes, here we go…

"What's your problem, Arte—"  
>"Stop!" Aqualad cut in.<p>

"This is not the time for petty quarrels…"  
>The two teens looked away from each other, but I could hear them grumble under their breath.<p>

We flew in silence until we reached the Lexcorp building; Megan had the Bio-Ship in camouflage mode. I hated being in such an open space, anyone who happened to look up would be able to see us…

No, scratch that. Anyone who happened to look up would see a group of costumed teenagers materialize out of thin air, and then probably go to a doctor to have their eyes examined.

Megan landed the ship neatly on the roof, and we silently hopped out of the Bio-Ship and onto the building.

"Robin?" Aqualad asked.

"On it…" I tapped my wrist computer to life and started hacking the system. I needed to disable the security cameras, that way we could get in and grab Commando without alerting too many people.

Superboy's head snapped up.

"Did you hear that?" He frowned.

"Uh, no, Mr. Super-hearing, we didn't…" Kid Flash rolled his eyes.

"What is it?" Megan asked.

Superboy looked to the right.

"There it is again…"  
>Without warning, Superboy leaped off the building and started charging down the alleyway.<p>

"What is he doing?" Artemis gasped.

"He's going to ruin the whole mission!"  
>Aqualad sighed and activated his eel tattoos, riding a jet of water down to where Superboy had landed.<p>

Slowly, hesitantly, the rest of us followed.

We found Superboy crouched over, looking at something.

"Conner! Are you hurt?" Megan fretted.  
>"No." he glanced at her.<p>

"But I think _he_ is…" He Superboy reached down and grabbed whatever he had been looking at.

A small arm came into the light, with Superboy's strong fingers gripping it. The arm was followed by an equally small body. Superboy let go of the boy's arm and backed off.

It was a kid, maybe five or six. His bright green eyes were full of tears; his blonde hair was slick from sweat. The kid was covered from head to toe in whatever garbage he had been laying in.

"Who are you?" Aqualad asked.

I shuffled uneasily on my feet. This wasn't good; we couldn't play babysitter right now! Sure, I felt bad for the kid, but we were on a rescue mission, and Commando needed our help a whole lot more than some little boy did.

"M-Max…" He whimpered.

Everyone froze.

"Max?" Kid Flash asked.

"Commando's little friend?"  
>The kid's face lit up.<p>

"You know Mandy? Is she okay? Where is she?" He craned his neck, looking for her.

"Easy, Max. We're here to rescue her. But why are you out here all alone?" Artemis asked.

Max looked crushed.

"You…don't got her?" He started to cry.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. We're going to, but where is she? Why isn't she with you?" Megan spoke in a soft voice, trying to quiet the small boy.

"S-she got out of the locked room they had her in…" He wiped his eyes with his filthy sleeve.

"She found me and…and…she picked me up and she ran and ran and ran…..But she couldn't run fast enough so she found and fire escape and told me to go down it. She ran the other way so they mean men would chase after her so I could get away. She told me to hide and wait for her like a good boy, so I did. But she hasn't come and it's been awhile and…and…" He started blubbering again.

Aqualad turned to us.

"It seems Commando's decided to plan her own escape."  
>"But if she's still in there…" I looked at the building.<p>

"That means she's in trouble."

Max unexpectantly darted forward and grabbed a hold of my cape. "Please! You need to hurry! I heard them talking when I was locked up! It doesn't matter if Mandy gives them the codes or not…" He sobbed.

"They're…They're going to shoot her!"

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><p>This is gettiing dark, isn't it?<p>

**(BEWARE: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!)** Anyway, as I always do I shall use this space it my fanfic to talk about something random. Todays topic is the mole. Since the YJ have found out that it's not Tornado, they'll be looking for the actual spy. The show has been hinting _WAY_ to stongly at Artemis, so I'm ruling her out as a possibilty. Besides, Sportsmaster said he knew about a mission that the team went on before Artemis was even a member! So there!  
>And I'm not sure if they YJ producers are allowed to mess up Robin and KF's characters by making them evil. So that narrows it down to Kaldur, Megan, and Superboy. I dunno about you, but Megan always seemed weird to me. Too perky... Too...Megan-y. And I read that in the comics she's really a white matian. But why would she alter her bod-screen to be green? Hmmm? In Targets she said that white martians are treated as second-class citizens, so maybe she wants to, I dunno, become supreme leader of Mars and make the whites superior or whatever. Maybe her uncle let her come to earth to get away from the war, and that whole thing about the 'competition' she talked about was a lie.(In the YJ comics, the new ones based off the show) I'm just saying, it's not that I hate Megan, but...<p>

Superboy could still be under Cadmus's control and be giving them info without him knowing it...

Aqualad is Black Manta's son! At least, this verion of him looks like Black Manta's son. I think it's true, I dunno. Either way, the evil apple doesn't fall far from the evil tree.

P.S: I like Supey and Kaldur, Megan is a little annoying but...NOT BASHING THEM! JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE SPY IS!  
>Sides, they are my least favorite characters, so if one of them is the mole I'm not gonna cry. But I love Artemis! And Artemis-haters should just leave the rest of us alone!<p>

P.P.S: If I turn out to be right, I expect all of you to review and congraduate me on my smartness! I COMMAND YOU!


	11. I'm not afraid

This is a super-long chapter to make up for my laziness in the past! I was gonna post this sooner but my computer started being weird and...(shrugs) I think I did an awesome job formating on this chapter, I spent extra time on it because sometimes my chapters in the past were a bit broken up funny and...yeah...

Enjoy! No flames! Review and I'll love you forever! :D:D:D

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><p>My grin widened as the sound of men shouting and swearing pierce through the silence of my cell. I could hear them quoting my phrases, demanding higher pay and respect. Being the thick-headed brutes they were, it wouldn't take long for things to get physical.<p>

The perfect distraction.

I forced myself to wait for five more minutes, making sure Lex's employees were all preoccupied, before I began my escape attempt. I say attempt because that's what it was, if one thing went wrong, just _one_, the whole plan would be ruined. My eyes scanned the small room, searching. They locked onto the surveillance camera mounted in the corner, the last thing standing in my way. I knew Lex would have guards watching the monitors 24/7, if they saw me unlock the door they would automatically sound the alarm and I'd have a group of really ticked-off Lexcorp bozos after me. _Not_ fun. I walked around the perimeter of the room once, twice. I was on my third circle when I hopped directly under the cam and hugged the wall. I was in its only blind spot. I reached up and pried off the cover that protecting the camera's circuits and started fiddling with them. If I was right, the camera-duty guys would be watching the chaos down the hall, not my cell. But all it would take is one guy glancing over his shoulder at the screen that displayed the feed from my cell and…

I shook my head to clear it. I couldn't worry about what might go wrong; I had to worry about getting out.  
>I scrunched up my face in concentration as I peered at the multicolored wires. Disconnect the red wire, or was it the brown one? Crisscross the blue and yellow wires put the orange wire where the green one <em>used<em> to be, and put the nacho-cheese-colored one right….over…_there_.

I stepped back, relieved. The video feed was now on a continuous loop. It would keep showing the last ten seconds of the camera's recordings over and over again. I highly doubted they would, but if Luthor's goons did notice the slight jump the video made when it reset, they'd probably blame it on an equipment malfunction. And by the time they figured it out…I smiled.

Well, I wouldn't be there when they did, now would I?  
>I moved to the door and knelt down until my eyes were level with the padlock. I slipped the key out of my pocket and pushed the key into the lock. I winced from the pain; my fingers were so <em>not<em> supposed to stretch that far, but I kept pushing and turning until the padlock slipped off the door and clattered to the ground with a way-too-_frickin'_-loud thud.

I pushed the door wide open and stood up. I took a few hesitant steps forward and nervously glanced down each hallway. _Twice_. After being cooped up in a dark, confined space for so long the wide-open hallway made me anxious. But not as anxious as I was to get out of there, so I braced myself and started sprinting down the hall to where they were supposedly keeping Max. I just hoped the goon knew how to count and Lex really was keeping Max _three_ doors down, apposed to, I don't know, _thirty-three. _Frankly I wouldn't be surprised; I'd seen people do _way_ dumber things. And if you're one of the people out there telling me that it's impossible and no one can do anything that stupid. _Shut up._ It's possible.

But no, I unlocked the door without a problem and saw poor, innocent little Maxie all huddled up on a cot just like the one they gave me. His face was streaked with tears and he looked worse then ever. When he first noticed me he cowered in fear, assuming I was a Lexcorp employee. I stepped into the room and held up my hands in a 'hey, it's just me' gesture.

"Maxie, it's me. We're getting out of here."  
>Max sat up and stared at me. His eyes seemed to get bigger, if that was even possible.<br>"They hurt you…" He whimpered.  
>I cringed; he was talking about the bruises… I shook my head. I didn't think about the bruises…<p>

"Maxie, buddy, its okay. I fell against a door, is all. They didn't touch me." Okay, yeah, I knew it was a weak lie, but Maxie did something to me when he looked at me. I just…I couldn't lie to him, not about something that big.

He blinked at me with his great big eyes and scowled.  
>"<em>Fibber<em>! I heard you screaming, and you swore too! I'm telling Lily!"  
>I gaped at him<em>. I'm telling Lily<em>? We were in major trouble and all he could worry about was one little swear word? Heck, it wasn't even one of the worst ones I knew!

But he seemed so honest, so…._angry_, it was almost funny.  
>I picked Max up in my arms and smiled at him, he was such a sweet boy, he shouldn't have to put up with being kidnapped.<br>That's another strike against you, Lex.

"Sorry Maxie, I didn't mean to say a bad word, the man was being a jerk and my tongue slipped. Forgiven?" I tweaked his cute little nose.  
>"Okay…." He wrapped his arms around my neck. "Let's just get out of here…"<br>I couldn't agree more.

I ducked out of the room and looked around. Left led back to my cell and the fighting guards, right led…I had no clue. Luthor's office? A back exist?  
>I had no other choice, so I went right. I summoned up a mental picture of the layout of a typical Lexcorp building, because I'd been in them hundreds of times before. You think this was the only time I messed with Lex Luthor? Uh…<em>no<em>. I've been messing with this guy since I was like…eight. I guess the microchip was just the last straw or something. Eh, it didn't matter. The dude hated me, I hated him. He had people charge at me with guns, I stole from him regularly. We had fun. Well…maybe not so much _him_, but…._I did!_ And all that really matters is the happiness of children.

I charged down the corridors, holding my side with one hand and gripping Max with the other. I could talk big all I wanted, but I was exhausted. I was in pain. There was no way I could run like that for much longer.  
>Maxie whimpered in my arms and I took the opportunity to stop and check on himrest for a second.

"What is it, Maxie?" I asked, trying not to wheeze.  
>"Hurts…" He held his abdomen.<br>A cold wave of fear washed over me. No..._no_...

"Max…" I tried to keep my voice calm. "Maxie, buddy…Did they hit you?"  
>He seemed surprised by the question. "What?"<br>"Did. They. _Hit_. You." I repeated slowly. If they did, not only would I be furious as hell, but it might mean Max was in big trouble. If the hit him the wrong way, and his appendix burst…  
><em>Oh, fuck no…<em> I bit my bottom lip.

"No…" He shook his head earnestly.  
>"Are you <em>sure<em>?" I demanded.  
>Max looked at me like I'd gone crazy. "Yeah, I'm sure. Why would they hit me?"<br>I smiled at him. He was too little to really understand what was going on, poor kid.

A bullet whizzed over my head, snapping me out of it.  
>"Brat!" Munroe thundered.<br>"Get the brat! Get her now!" He ordered, stomping his feet like a five-year-old.

At his command, two dozen guards started racing towards us brandishing MK-47s and M16s as well as regular security-guard firearms.  
>I want to say I stood my ground and fought, that I didn't back down and I beat everyone up and yeah Commando you're so awesome…!<br>The truth? I ran like hell. Wouldn't you?

I almost did a cartoon-style wipeout onto the marble flooring when I rounded a partially sharp corner, but some of the guards weren't so lucky. Over half of the guards tripped over the morons on the floor, and the rest started laughing and making fun of those who fell. The really funny part was Munroe. The jerk's face was beet-red from rage, but he wasn't about to chase after me himself.

That gave me a little time, but by then alarms were sounding all over the building. They'd all be looking for me, lackey revolution or not, the ones who weren't 'fighting for there right to a decent pay' would be searching. I stopped right in front of an elevator and jammed my thumb into the little up button. I know that up is not typically the way out of a building, but I suspected that I was in one of the underground storage areas. Almost no one went down there, ever. Besides, I was running out of options. I pressed the button again. It wouldn't go. There was something wrong… I slapped myself, of course! It was an executive elevator. To open it I'd need a…a…cardkey.

I dug the card from my pocket and swiped it with a grin, and who says crime doesn't pay?  
>The doors almost instantly glided open and I stepped inside.<br>I heard footsteps and screaming rushing towards me. "The elevator! She's in the elevator! Grab her! Grab her!" Munroe screeched.

In my panic, I punched the highest floor button instead of the ground floor like I was wanted to. I kept pushing it as if that would help, and I kept screaming "Shut! Shut! _Shut_!" Like the door would respond if I yelled at it. The doors gently closed just as the men reached them. They pounded against the doors, but we were soon too far away to hear them. Annoying 70's music twinkled out of the speakers, too soft to be heard correctly but to loud to be ignored.

"Uh, Mandy…" Max spoke up.  
>"Hmm?" I mumbled, only half-listening.<br>"Isn't outside….down?" He asked innocently.  
>"Yeah…" I cringed.<p>

"But so is fifty or so peeved-off Lexcorp goons with semi-automatic weapons." I said bluntly.  
>"Oh…" Max nodded like he understood, but I could tell he was trying to figure out what 'semi-automatic' meant.<br>The doors opened again and I darted out, not even waiting to see what was around me. It seemed like I was in the 'higher-ups' department. Paintings adorned the walls, every where I looked I saw a potted plant. My thief's hands instinctively wanted to loot, but I managed to control myself.

I rounded a corner and paused beside a portrait of Lex to catch my breath.  
>I glared at the picture, wishing I had a black sharpie in my pocket…<br>"There she is! Get her!" Someone shouted from behind me.  
>"<em>Ughgh<em>! Here we go again!" I groaned and started running…_again_.

I whipped my head around, searching for another elevator, when I found something even better.  
>A fire escape. It was old and rickety, but it was a whole lot safer than <em>inside<em> the building so I really didn't care.  
>"Yes!" I pumped my fist into the air.<br>"Yes! Yes! _Yes_!"

"GET HER!"  
>I didn't see the men yet, but Munroe's shout sounded close. <em>Too<em> close. There was no way Max and I could get down the fire escape before they found us.  
>"No!" I gritted my teeth in frustration.<br>"No! No! _No_!"

I was so close to freedom, so close to safety, that the thought of being caught again made me want to curl up into a ball and cry.  
>And I could've too, I <em>so<em> could've. But I had Max to think about, and of course there was my pride…  
>"Max…" I sat the boy down in front of the opening.<p>

"Go down the fire escape and hide, alright? I'll find a different way out and meet up with you."  
>"NO!" He wailed.<br>"I don't wanna move from this spot for as long as I live!"  
>I groaned in frustration. The kid was terrified, yeah, but so was I. I didn't have time to put up with his stubbornness.<p>

I knelt down so that we where eye-to-eye.  
>"Listen to me. If you <em>don't<em> move the rest of your life is going to be about thirty seconds." I said softly, indicating the direction of the men's voices. At first, I had no idea why it was taking so long for them to find me. But then I hear one of the men shout "Higher pay!" and I knew that the revolution had moved to the upper floors.

He whimpered, but nodded in agreement.  
>I put on my best smile for him, but I wasn't sure how convincing I was.<br>"Okay, go on. Be a good boy and remember: don't move from your hiding spot until you see me." I gave him a hug and kissed the top of his head before I pushed him towards the fire escape.

I watched Max carefully shuffle down the escape for a few moments before Munroe's voice caught my attention.  
>"There she is!" A man, the one I had persuaded to lead a revolt, growled.<br>"Little brat tricked me! She's behind it all!"  
>"Oh, so you pick <em>now<em> to start using that walnut-on-a-stick you call a brain?" I rolled my eyes before scampering out of the line of fire. I had to get them away from Max. After all, I was the primary target. As long as I kept their attention he would be safe.

"Be careful where you shoot!" Munroe instructed.  
>We need her alive!"<br>Oh, goody.

I dashed down the halls, desperately searching for an exit.  
>That's when the bullet hit me.<br>It lodged itself deep into my shoulder and I staggered forward. I clutched my shoulder in agony and dropped to my knees.

The pain was intense; it felt like my whole arm was on fire.  
>I felt around for an exit wound and moaned. There was none. So I was right, the bullet was still inside me.<br>Not good, not good at _all_.

I started getting dizzy; my warm blood was rolled down by back in a slow trickle. If I didn't get help soon, I was going to bleed out.  
>Munroe's laugh made me look up.<br>The man was standing over me, arms crossed. He looked rather pleased with himself, like he had just won a gold medal in the Olympics.

"Who shot her?" He asked his men.  
>"I did, boss!" One of them odediently chirped.<br>"Good job…" He knelt beside me and roughly took my wounded shoulder in his hands.

"Huh, the bullet's still in there." He prodded my injury with his index finger.  
>I gasped in pain and tried to pull away from him.<br>He grabbed me again and chuckled.

"Eh, we can get that out before we take ya to Luthor."  
>My head snapped up.<br>_Umm…what did he say?  
><em>Munroe waved to his men and a first-aid kit and a toolbox was laid at his feet.

My first thought: _Where'd they get those from?  
><em>My second thought: _Why the hell does he need a toolbox!  
><em>Munroe waved again and four of his men approached me.

"Hold her down while I dig out the shell." He examined a pair of pliers from his box.  
>I knew that he probably wasn't going to use <em>that<em> tool, it was too bulky, but I still freaked.

"Like _hell_ you are!" I thrashed away from them.  
>Munroe slowly shook his head in fake exasperation. "It's never the easy way with you, is it Commando?"<br>Munroe's goons pushed me on my stomach and pinned my limbs to the floor.

Munroe rolled up my shirtsleeve and poked the wound again.  
>"Not too deep…" He mused.<br>"Lucky for you."  
><em>Yeah, that's what I am…<em>I scowled. _Lucky_.

Munroe rifled through the box and removed something.  
>With my face flat on the marble, I couldn't see what it was.<br>A thin, sharp, blade pierced my flesh and started to carve out the slug.

It was a pocketknife; the cheap kind fishermen buy to scrape the guts out of their fish.  
>I screamed in pain and desperately tried to get away.<br>"I said _hold her_, damn it!" Munroe cursed, the knife dug deeper.

I felt the men press against me until I was completely immobile.  
>he pain was excruciating, it hurt about a hundred times worse than the actual shooting did.<br>"Ah…!Aaah…! _Aaaaaaaaagh_!" I shrieked and closed my eyes as Munroe made the final agonizing cut, removing the bullet.

_Do not cry, you understand? Do __not__ cry…_I mentally berated myself to distract myself from the pain.  
>I glanced up and saw Munroe holding the bloody shell like it was a trophy.<br>My wound throbbed, the world started to fade…

Munroe's goon shook me in order to keep me awake.  
>Munroe took a bottle from the first-aid kit and carelessly dumped it all over my shoulder.<br>I gritted my teeth against the pain, it stung so bad I found myself missing the knife.

Munroe wrapped my shoulder tightly in thick white bandages—the stretchy kind you can get at any drug store.  
>The goons pulled me to my feet. I felt wobbly; my back was soaked in blood.<br>Munror reached over to handcuff my hands behind my back, and I made a split-second decision. I was doomed anyway, right?  
>I pulled back my left arm and made a fist.<p>

_**CRACK!  
><strong>_  
>Munroe's nose made a sharp snapping sound when my fist connected with his face, I knew I had broken it.<br>"Man that felt good!" I declared as one of the goons cuffed me and slammed the butt on his gun onto my skull as retribution for Munroe. I saw him clutching his nose and trying to stop his eyes from watering.

The men pushed me along, I felt like I was going to pass out every time I took a step.  
>The men weren't cutting me any slack, though. Every time I slowed, I'd get cracked in the legs again. It was just like when they first marched me to Luthor's office, although this time I doubted Lex would get drunk and send me back to my cell again.<p>

I was going to die, I knew that. But for some reason I wasn't scared, at least, not for myself. I was hoping Max would get to safety when I didn't come, that the other kids—_my_ Highwaykids—would be alright.  
>Besides that, I was completely calm.<p>

I had spent so many hours worrying and being afraid of what _might_ happen to me, that now that I _knew_ what was going to happen I…I don't know. I guess it was like some sort of relief, even though I wouldn't be able to enjoy it for long.  
>A few seconds later, (or was it minutes? <em>Man<em>, my head hurt...) I found myself in front of a large, flat-screen TV with Lex's smiling face plastered on it. Munroe, Stucco, and the goons stood behind me. I was in the center of the room where everyone could see me, something was going to happen. Something big.

I turned my attention back to the screen, Lex was still smiling triumphantly as if he had won the lottery or something.  
>I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. <em>That's wrong.<em> I thought. _Why was Lex on a screen?  
><em>It took a few moments before my brain could process all this new information, but when it did I was even more confused._ Why did Lex leave? What was he up to?_

On screen, Lex started to clap.  
>Congratulations, Commando,<em> Congratulations.<em> Just when I think you're down for the count, you pull a new trick out of your sleeve. You _truly_ are incredible."  
>I shrugged nonchalantly and smirked. "I try."<br>Lex didn't seem too happy about my little comment, for some reason he was still expecting me to break down and start sobbing.

"Enough games, child. You are going to give me my activation codes, or else…." His voice trailed off, trying to intimidate me.  
>I shook my head in disbelief. <em>Or else?<em> Really? How many clichés can this man _use_.  
>"First of all, I DON'T HAVE THE FRICKIN' CODES!" I snapped.<p>

"And second, even if I did have them, do you really think I'd give them to you?"  
>Lex narrowed his eyes menacingly. "Your life depends on it, girl."<br>I looked at Lex, looking so confident, so in-charge, I couldn't help it…I burst out laughing.

Everyone in the room looked at like I was crazy, even Lex seemed stunned for a moment.  
>"What's so funny, brat?" Stucco nudged my bad shoulder with her gun.<br>Ignoring the pain that shot up my arm, I giggled a few more times before I calmed down enough to talk.

"My _life_?" I asked him.  
>"Lex, I don't think you understand. As long as my friends are safe, I don't care what happens to me. I <em>really<em> don't." I shook my head, smiling.  
>"You <em>want<em> to die?" He asked me, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, heck no! I'm not saying I want to _die_! I'm just saying: my own life means _far_ less to me than the lives of others do. So when you said that _my life_ depends on it, well, it was kind of funny." I shrugged.  
>"Max is safe, the Highwaykids are safe anything else is an…. acceptable loss."<br>Lex paused and considered my words carefully, he had clearly not met anyone that had told him they _didn't care_ if the died or not.

"Your friends will think differently…" He was running out of cards to play, and he knew it.  
>"My friends will be just fine without me. I trained them well enough." I nodded proudly.<br>"They're tough kids, Lex. They're brave, a trait you do _not_ possess, my friend." I laughed again.

"I was brave enough to kidnap you, Commando…" He seethed.  
>"<em>Dude<em>, you do know I'm only _thirteen_, right?" I rolled my eyes.  
>"That's not real impressive if you ask me…"<br>"I didn't…" Lex retorted, pulling a bottle of wine onto the table.

"Ah, there you go, proving my point." I nodded."What do you mean?"  
>"Lex, men like you keep half of their courage in a bottle, and the other half in a barrel…" I gestured toward Munroe with my head.<br>"Take him for example, take away his gun and he'll bawl like a baby, I guarantee it." Munroe's face went red, his crooked nose stook out prominetly on his face like a snowman's. I knew I should've stopped there but I couldn't. I was on a roll.

"Stucco, you're a very intelligant woman. But you're also a total bitch who won't be happy no matter _what_ you do or _where_ you are."  
>I looked at the goons, who had been snickering as I told off their bosses.<br>And you guys, well you're just idiots…"  
>I turned back to the screen,<p>

"And you, Lex. You are probably the most pathetic, insignificant, schmuck I've ever met." I smiled.  
>I am worth millions!"<br>"Money can't buy happiness, Lex. It sure helps, I'll admit…" I shrugged.  
>"But come on, face it. With all your money, with all your influence, you are completely miserable…I pity you, Lex Luthor, I really do…"<br>Lex didn't know what to say, neither did anyone else.

"And in the end, this really isn't about the codes, is it? Oh sure, it started out that way, but by now you've stopped kidding yourself. You know I can't give you the codes; you just keep using that as an excuse. The real reason you hate me, Lex, the real reason you want to kill me is because...you're…._scared of me_!" I drew out the last sentence, smirking victoriously.

"Scared? Of a puny little street rat like y—"  
>"Yes, Lex. A <em>'puny little street rat'<em> like me." I grinned wider.  
>"I don't back down from you, Lex. I don't show you fear. I'm just <em>not<em> afraid of you! And if you can't scare someone, or get them on your side, you're scared of them—simply because you can't _control_ them. Grant it, I'd like some more control in my life, too. But not like you do, you _crave_ it and when you can't have it…well, pick up that bottle and show us, Lex."

There, I said what I needed to say. Nothing mattered anymore, at least not to me it didn't.  
>Lex was caught somewhere between rage and shock, I could tell he was trying to figure out what to do, what to <em>say<em>…but, what _can_ you say after that?

"Munroe…" He growled.  
>"Our young friend has outlived her usefulness. Kill her."<br>I felt the barrel of Munroe's gun nuzzle itself into my temple. He bent down so that he could whisper in my ear.  
>"D'you have any last words, Brat?"<p>

I did, actually.  
>"Go fuck yourself, Munroe." I gave him a sideways glance.<br>He scowled. "Alright then…" His finger closed around the trigger.

_**BANG!**_

The gun went off, but it didn't hit me. Confused, I looked over and saw a familiar teenage boy with red hair holding Munroe by his collar. Two other boys I recognized from the news as Robin and Aqualad had detained the goons. A archer girl dressed in green, (what was her name, Artemis?) and her friend, who had green skin, where standing next to Stucco. A boy who looked an awful lot like Superman stood in the back, looking like he wanted to punch something.

Wait? _Green skin_? I did a double take and groaned. Could my life get any weirder?  
>"Commando?" Kid Flash caught my attention.<br>"Are you okay?"  
>My vision started to swim. No, I was <em>not<em> okay…

"It's alright; we're here to rescue you…" He said, trying to soothe me.  
>I shrugged and shook my head, I couldn't speak.<br>"Commando? _Commando_!" He let go of Munroe and shook my shoulders, Munroe slumped to the floor.

"I'm…_fine_." I managed.  
>"But I do have one question..." I looked up weakly.<br>"What's that?"  
>I forced a smirk.<br>"How's your head?"

And with those words, my legs collapsed underneath me and I tumbled to the floor. Or at least I would have, if Kid Flash hadn't caught me. The world faded to black, and as I fell unconscious I heard Munroe making some weird sounds.  
>the heroes must've disarmed him because he was sobbing, crying his eyes out like a giant toddler.<p>

Just like I said he would.

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><p>Yea! She's safe! Kinda! Whoop!<p>

**Press the pretty review button! You know you want to! IT'S SO SHINY!**

**(I have had _WAY_ to much sugar, in case you were wondering...)**


	12. Recruit

This chapter isn't very long, I know. But the last chapter was extra long so deal with it!:P Just Kidding...sorta.

Wasn't even gonna post today, but then I thought 'oh what the heck?' and here I am...and here you are.:P

This chapter will be memorable because it's the first time I touch on any Robin/Commando fluff! Rommando! Hehe, I may keep using that term. All the other ones I could think of sound dumb (Ex: Jobin, Rill,...) Don't they sound like slang names for drugs? Like a druggie is walking down the street and he meets his guy and he goes "Bro, gimme some Jobin..." Yeah...that's enough sugar for me:P

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><p>I watched as Martian Manhunter and Black Canary eased Commando's unconscious body onto a cot.<p>

The girl's face was pale, making the barely visible freckles on her nose stand out prominently on the white skin. There were some hastily done bandages on her face, and then there was the gunshot wound that had ripped open on the trip back to the cave. She had lost a lot of blood; her whole shirt was soaked in it. Then there were the bruises. Her legs, arms, and face were dotted with them. I suspected they cover her entire torso as well.

Commando moaned in pain as Canary accidently bumped against her shoulder, but otherwise didn't make a sound.  
>Her face was twisted up in agony; even in her sleep she could feel the pain.<br>"J'onn, this isn't going to work. We can't have her moving around while we're trying to work on her…" Canary sighed in frustration, smoothing Commando's hair out of her eyes.

J'onn nodded in agreement. "I shall ease her mind…" And with that he politely nudged Canary out of the way and laid his palm on Commando's forehead.  
>Almost instantly her body completely relaxed, a bit of color returned to her cheeks and she literally sighed with relief.<p>

We where all awkwardly standing in the med lab, not sure if we should leave or…or what?  
>Why was Commando even here to begin with?<br>Canary looked up at us and gave us a small smile. "Go on, kids, we can handle things from here."  
>"But…." I began.<p>

"Yeah?"  
>"I'm just…<em>confused<em>." I admitted. "Shouldn't she be in a hospital somewhere?"  
>J'onn and Canary exchanged glances, and I realized there was something they weren't telling us.<br>"Go…" Canary nodded, making a decision.  
>"We need space..."<p>

"But Rob's right…" Wally frowned.  
>"What <em>is<em> going on here?"  
>"Commando is in League custody, and we are going to tend to her wounds. There's nothing more to say." Her voice was blunt, inflexible.<p>

Aqualad looked at Commando, then back at Canary.  
>"Canary, we do have a right to know <em>why<em> we have Commando in _our_ base, when in all honestly she should be in a hospital. And Commando will want answers too, when she wakes up…"  
>I wondered how Commando <em>would<em> react. Would she freak out? Or would she be cool with it? I didn't know.

Canary sighed. "If you really want to know, ask Batman…."  
>She busied herself unwrapping Commando's bandages. Her head was down and her eyes narrowed, the conversation was clearly over.<br>We left then, but Wally went straight for the fridge.

"What're you doing?" I asked.  
>Wally looked up from a bowl of cold spaghetti long enough to bark out a short reply. "Eating."<br>And he continued to shovel it into his mouth at a speed that was fast even for _him_.

"Aren't we going to ask Batman why…." I looked around. Megan was baking more cookies, Artemis was laying out her arrowheads, Superboy was sitting around and just… Well…_being_ Superboy. Only Aqualad looked interested in getting an answer, but that was because he was the leader. He _had_ to know these things.

"Don't you all want to know why Commando's here?" I asked, exasperated.  
>"Not really…" Artemis glanced up momentarily before returning her gaze to the arrows.<p>

Superboy shrugged and mumbled "She's here, so what? It's not like she's going to hurt anything…"  
>I wanted to scream at Conner. To tell him that she was a criminal and couldn't be trusted. But I remembered my conversation with Canary. I wasn't going to judge Commando just yet.<p>

"Wally?" I asked, Wally had supported me in the med lab, maybe he….  
>"Dude…" He shrugged, wiping sauce of his face with his sleeve.<br>"She's hurt, and she's unconscious. What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing…" I scowled.  
>"I just…Come on, Wally, doesn't it seem strange? The way Batman and Canary were talking, like they have some sort of secret plan?"<br>Wally shrugged again, he wasn't as curious about secret plans as I was, I guess.

"Maybe the League just wants to make sure she won't make a run for it…?" Megan half-asked, half-answered.  
>I nearly laughed, run for it? In Commando's condition, she probably couldn't even walk fast<em>,<em> let alone _run_.  
>I shook my head angrily and stalked into the Mission Room, Aqualad followed close behind me.<p>

"Batman…" I said as I spotted him standing at the supercomputer, working on something.  
>Whatever it was, he closed out of it and turned towards us.<br>"Yes?"  
>I took a deep breath. "Why did you have us bring Commando back to the Cave? What are you planning on doing with her?"<p>

Batman said nothing.  
>"Batman?" Aqualad spoke up after a few uncomfortable moments.<br>"Robin, Aqualad…." He began.

"I had you bring Commando here instead of a hospital because I plan of having her move into the Cave, she'll be living here with Superboy and Miss Martian—if she agrees, that is."  
>His voice never faltered, he said those words as simply as he would've said something small and unimportant.<p>

But this wasn't small, or unimportant.

"_Whaaaat_?" I gaped.  
>"Y-you mean…? Commando is….?"<br>"Commando is going to become your new teammate, Robin."  
>I stood there, mouth open, eyes wide. I wasn't sure what to say, for a second I thought about smacking myself to see if I was dreaming.<p>

"Uh…." I blinked.  
>"Uh….."<p>

"Batman, you said 'if she agrees'…" Aqualad butted in.  
>"What does that mean? Why wouldn't she agree?"<br>Batman turned towards him.

"Commando's friends, mostly Lily, have told me that Commando can be a bit…stubborn. And I'm not going to make her do anything against her will. I think she's had enough people do that to her already."  
>"And if she says no?" Aqualad asked.<br>"Then we'll figure out something else for her."  
>"Very well…" Aqualad turned.<p>

"I shall tell the others…"  
><em>Wait…What?<br>_All of a sudden Batman was telling us we were getting a new teammate (maybe)

Not only a new teammate, but one that has committed multiple crimes…Oh, and did I mention she was thirteen?  
>Commando was bad news. I know I said I wasn't going to judge, but look at the obvious: Commando was manipulative, cunning, pretty, and…<em>wait<em>, did I just say _Commando_ was _pretty_?  
>I blushed even though I knew no one heard me.<p>

_Commando is not pretty! I mean…well, I'm not saying she's ugly, either. Because she's so not…Gah! I mean, umm, uhhh…_

I forgot what I was talking about.  
>Okay...I forced myself to calm down.<p>

_I'm getting a new teammate, no big deal.  
><em>_A teammate that's a girl,_  
><em>My age,<br>__(And pretty)_

I shook my head angrily, sometimes I hated my stupid teenage hormones.

* * *

><p>Whoop! Hehe, Commando's being offered a spot on the YJ team, will she take it, though? This is Commando we're talking about, people. Just in case anyone asks, none of the other Ocs will be joning YJ, not even Maxie...sorry if I dissapointed anyone, guys, but this is <em>my<em> fic so...

**Bold is awesome! Bold makes catches people's eyes! BOLD BOLD BOLD!**

Raise your hand if you saw the whole Commando joining the team thing coming! I mean, I dropped some pretty un-subtle hints here and there...

**Question: How do you guys think I should handle the Rob/Co relationship? I don't want to make it too much like Spitfire, because that's already been done, but I need to be careful not to make it like 'hey, we just met, but I love you' (Kiss, hug, whatever...)**


	13. Choices

HELLLLLLO! I'm back! Who missed me!

A little FWI: The name of the band and the movie I talk about in this chapter are entirely made up! So don't go, "Who are they?" Or "When did that come out?" Because they only exist in my imagination. And trust me, that's a scary place.

* * *

><p>For the second time that week, I woke up in an unfamiliar place with my head pounding and my stomach doing flip-flops.<br>At least this time I knew how I got there, sort of. I remembered the hero-kid's last-second rescue, and I remember fainting, but…where was I?  
>I forced my eyes open, and looked around for the first time.<br>I frowned, rubbing my temples. Now I was even _more _confused.

It wasn't a jail cell, but I already knew they wouldn't take me to prison right away—not in my condition. But it didn't look like a hospital, either. Sure it had stuff you _find_ in a hospital: X-ray machines, examination tables, surgical tools, etc…only everything seemed much more…high tech. Like all the equipment had influences from…I don't know where. Frankly, the place sort of reminded me of an alien's operating room from an old movie I saw a week ago: Invaders from Venus. (all of the alien movies featuring _Martians_ had stopped being made shortly after the arrival of Martian Manhunter, I guess the producers didn't want to look bad.)

Anyways, I clearly wasn't in a hospital, or prison….so where _did_ they take me?  
>This couldn't be…their headquarters?<br>I almost laughed at myself for thinking something so dumb.

No, _no_…there was _no way_ they'd bring _me_ to their HQ, unless they were stupid or something.  
>I swallowed, <em>hard. <em>Or unless they wanted to turn me over to the _League _themselves, after all I was on their Top Priority list, right?  
>In case you didn't know they also have <em>the Joker<em> on their list, yep…they're putting me in the same group of baddies as _that_ psychotic freak.

I briefly thought about escaping, very briefly.

I mean, come on, they were _superheroes_, I was just some kid who just happened to have good aim, I knew I wouldn't get very far even if I tried. Besides, it wasn't worth it. They were letting me stay in a nice room, I was laying in a bed that was ten times comfier than _anything_ I've ever slept in before, I didn't want to screw it up and have the League put me in a cell _before _I was actually convicted.

I snuggled deeper into the mattress and pulled the blankets up over me again. The bed was soft and sweet-smelling, the sheets had been freshly cleaned and the blanket was warm and inviting—every fiber of my body begged me to stop worrying and go back to sleep. For the moment I was safe and had a nice warm bed to sleep in. Who cared about tomorrow? Who cared about an hour from now? All that mattered was the right now, and I was going to enjoy whatever freedom I had left.

"Commando?" I kept my eyes closed; maybe whoever it was would just go away…  
>"Girl, I know you're not asleep. Sit up and look at me." The voice sounded irritated now.<br>Groaning, I sat up, but kept my eyes closed. I was positive I'd be met with a cop and a pair of handcuffs who likes to throw his weight around—or maybe some sappy social worker who likes to treat every minor they work with like the kid is still in kindergarten. To tell the truth, I wasn't completely sure who would be more irritating.

When I did finally pry my eyes open, I was happy because the person was not who I expected, but shocked because of who it _was.  
><em>It was a tall, athletic-looking woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Pretty, but in a 'this-chick-would-gladly-kick-your-ass-half-way-down-the-street-and-back-so-don't-mess-with-her' kind of way. I knew who she was, though, which in this case was not a good thing.

"Black Canary…" I breathed, my fingers instinctively flying for my holsters. But I was unarmed, my guns were probably still back at the warehouse.  
>I wasn't sure if Canary noticed that little gesture, but if she did she didn't say anything.<p>

"Feeling better? Does anything hurt?" She asked, a touch of concern creeping into her voice. The questions and her tone caught me totally off-guard; I wasn't used to adults asking me how I _felt._ Normally it was just "You little brat! Get back here with my insert-name-of-stolen-object-here!" or something else along those lines. I rolled my shoulders and stretched, feeling the tension there, and relaxed.  
>"<em>Everything <em>hurts…" I reported truthfully.

"But I _do_ feel better; it feels like I got hit by a pick-up truck instead of by, oh I don't know… a _train_—which is how badly it hurt _yesterday._" I paused, considering.  
>"Or a few hours ago or…" I shrugged. " You know, <em>whenever<em>, how long was I out?" I asked.

"You were right the first time, you slept into the next day." She eyed me carefully, probably examining the bruises on my face. That was when I first notice my clothes…they were—well, _my_ clothes. I recognized my t-shirt from some defunct rock band called the Jade Dragons, it was black with the band's name written in drippy neon green letters, I also wore my most comfortable pair of sweats—I could tell they were the same clothes because of the mustard stain of the collar of the shirt and the small tear in the one leg of my pants.

_How the heck did they get my clothes?_ And then a more uncomfortable thought hit me, _Someone dressed me while I was asleep!_

I almost said something to Canary, almost. But she was still prattling on about who-knows-what and I only caught the last sentence.  
>"In a few hours I'll give you some pain-killers, I'd give you them sooner but…I'm not completely sure how well earthling and Martian medicines will mix."<br>"Martian?" I frowned.

"Oh, yeah, Martian Manhunter tended to your wounds while you were out. You should probably thank him next time you see him."  
><em>Okay, now she's lecturing me about my manners? What next?<em> I fought the urge to roll my eyes.  
>I went over Canary's words again, <em>next time I see him?<em> What's that supposed to mean? I'm headed for prison…right?

_Right?_

"Come on, you look like you good use something to eat. When's the last time you had a decent mean?"  
>At first, I thought she was making fun of me and I prepared to launch back a stinging retort when I realized…I didn't know. Munroe had given me a burger, and there had been fries with but they fell onto the floor and I wasn't sure when it had been cleaned last and…yeah, no thank you.<p>

My last decent meal was probably the sandwiches that Lily made me eat, but before that? Had no clue. I can't count the number of times Lily's had to practically shove food down my throat to get me to eat _something._ It wasn't because of lack of food, oh no, food was never an issue. I think it was because of stress, with Max's illness and the new crack-downs on crime in Central City it was all I could do to keep myself from having a panic attack and losing it.

"Not hungry…" I mumbled, the words I said so many times to Lily falling easily off my tongue. But, like Lily, Canary wasn't buying it.

"Don't care. You're eating. Let's go…" She grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.  
>I was a little dizzy, but Canary gripped my shoulders tightly—like she was <em>expecting <em>me to be a bit unsteady on my feet.  
>She steered me out of the room and down the hall, giving me the opportunity to look around. The place was huge and filled with expensive-looking décor. Just the kind of place I would rob, if the situation was different.<p>

Canary led me into a kitchen, the most normal thing in the building I'd seen so far, and gestured for me to sit at the island in the middle of the room. I followed her order hesitantly, this whole thing was nuts. One minute I'm about to die, and the next I'm being fed dinner by a superhero. That just proves how _truly_ screwed up my life is.

"Do you like nachos?" Canary asked.  
>Again, my mind had a spasm as I tried to wrap my head around this whole situation.<br>Dumbstruck, I nodded and watched as Canary melted some cheese and loaded a plate up with chips.

"I figured I might as well ask, but I don't know a single teenager who'll say _no_ to nachos Water?"  
>After I figured out she was asked me if I wanted a bottle of water to eat with my nachos, I nodded again.<p>

She set the nachos as the bottle down in front of me and turned around to clean up the slight mess she had made.  
>When Canary realized I wasn't eating she gave me a reproachful look and opened her mouth, preparing to deliver some kind of lecture.<p>

Something whizzed by my head, and I turned to see a redheaded boy sticking his head in the fridge.  
>Wow, just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder.<br>"Hey! What happened to all the nacho cheese?" He whined. I froze in my seat, that voice…the League…red hair…KID FLASH!

The boy turned, noticing me for the first time. I saw that he freckles, a feature that had been covered by his cowl when he was in costume.  
>"Oh, um…never mind." He stammered awkwardly, clearly not knowing what to say.<br>"You can have my nachos." I slid the plate away from me. "I'm not hungry."  
>"No, he <em>cannot<em> have your nachos." She slid it back to me. "And you are going to eat, whether you like it or not."

"_Not_…" I scowled; Canary was starting to get on my nerves. Superhero or not, I was ready to begin a shouting match with her.  
>Poor Kid Flash just stood there watching us glare at each other, probably just as confused as I was about the entire situation.<br>"Hey, KF, where's—oh." A boy about my age came into the kitchen, stopping dead when he saw me.

_Perfect, another hero I get to deal with._ The reasonable part of my brain griped.  
>But the idiotic teenage side of me took one look at the boy and started squealing <em>He's cute! Go get him! Get him <em>_**now**__!_ at the top of it's lungs.  
>"Hey Robin…" I nodded towards him, guessing at the boy's name. By the look on his face, I knew I was right. And come on, <em>who<em> else could he be? _Aqualad?_

"Would _you_ like my nachos?" I asked him.  
>"Commando!" Canary leaned towards me, getting angrier by the second.<br>"Don't keep trying to get rid of the nachos, just eat them!" She seethed.  
>I honestly wasn't trying to be difficult, but…come on, things weren't exactly going great for me lately. Wasn't I allowed to blow off some steam every now and then?<p>

Robin gave me a long look, like he was trying to decide what to make of me. Apparently he gave up trying and walked away, shouting something about going to train with—did I hear him right?—Kaldur? And the others—the rest of their team, most likely.  
>Kid Flash took the opportunity to scoot around the furious Canary and follow the younger boy away.<p>

With them gone, Canary's focus was back on me.

"Okay, kid…" She rubbed her head.  
>"What's the deal with you and food?"<br>_Nothing._ I poked one of the chips with my pinky, making it fall into a small pool of cheese.  
><em>Does she think I have an eating disorder or something?<em>

"I don't understand…" I mumbled.  
>"What do you mean you don't understand?" She frowned.<br>"Kid…it's just food, you _need_ to eat…"

I looked at her and shrugged.  
>"I can't eat when I'm stressed. Never could…"<br>Canary nodded like she understood and pushed the plate back towards me, one last time.

"Here's the deal: you eat and I'll take you to Bats and he'll explain what's going on, alright?"  
>I smiled despite myself, she was using the old trick where she makes it seem like I have more than one choice, but I really don't. I've used it myself a hundred times before.<br>Deciding just to go along with it, I quickly downed the nachos and chugged the water—making Canary make a face.

"You're going to make yourself sick, eating fast like that."  
>I turned towards her and pretended to be annoyed.<br>"First you tell me to eat, then you tell me not to. _Jeez_, make up your mind!"  
>"I didn't…oh, just forget it…" She shook her head again and took me by the arm.<p>

She led me down a different hall and we came into a large, spacey room that was occupied by a high-tech computer and…_yikes!_  
>I nearly jumped right out of my sneakers. It was Batman, <em>the<em> Batman, standing right in the middle of the room. Suddenly eating nachos in the kitchen seemed like a great idea, why didn't I eat slower?

I shook my head, annoyed with myself. I was _Commando_! I wasn't afraid of anything! Besides-I wanted to talk to Batman. That's why Canary brought me here. There was no way I could chicken out now.

And yet... I looked at Batman's still form; he probably knew we were there already. According to the stories, Batman knew _everything. _I figured that most the stories were probably only exaggerated half-truths but…it's different when you're in the same room as him. The man had this aura: controlled, commanding, and a little spooky. I never expected to meet the man, and now that I was there, standing right behind him all my nerve flew clear out the window.

Whenever I committed a crime I encountered cops. Usually they where amateur donut-munchers who weren't much of a problem, sometimes they were veteran cops who took the job seriously—but could be easily side-stepped as well. But a confrontation with the Justice League…it just, never crossed my mind. That may seem stupid, but I guess things just aren't real to me unless they're standing right in my face. I tried to say something, but my mouth was dry and my tongue seemed to keep getting in the way.

Canary helped me out by clearing her throat and saying. "Kid's awake…"  
>I wanted to look over at her and say <em>"Really, Canary? Because I thought I was sleepwalking..."<br>_But I didn't, I kept my mouth shut. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be _me _and not be able to shoot out sarcastic remarks at will?

Batman turned and I got the feeling that he had been waiting for _me_ to start the conversation, not Canary.  
>It seems ridiculous, but that kind of upset me. I had been up for maybe forty-five minutes, and I'd already managed to make at least one adult disappointed.<p>

"Commando…" He greeted with a nod.  
>"How's the ribs?"<br>I shrugged and ran my hand over my abdomen—my ribs were the sorest part of my body. It hurt even to breath deeply.  
><em>How the heck did he know that? Oh...that's right. He's the world's greatest detective! Crap, why'd I agree to this? I'm so screwed…<em>

I looked at him and tried to think of a good answer, it was harder than you'd think. I didn't want to lie, but I didn't want to seem like a whiner. They hurt, I wanted to swallow a whole bottle of pills just to kill the pain. I figured none of them were broken, but I wasn't sure. All I knew was that I was sore, but not as sore as I should be (Yeah, Martians!)  
>"Sore." I replied, and then checked out my shoulder and face. Whoever bandaged me up this time did a good job at least; Munroe and Stucco didn't care as long as it didn't fall off.<p>

"But I'll live…" It was a joke, but I didn't even attempt a smile.  
>There was a moment of awkward silence.<br>Canary prodded me in the back. "Well…?" She whispered. "Didn't you want to ask him something…?"  
>I felt like a little kid whose mother was coaching her through her first meeting with Santa Claus, it was humiliating. But also kind of nice, because I'd never had a grown-up woman take any sort of interest in me before. I had to watch my little siblings get showered with affection from our darling mother while my stepdad was trying to decide whether holding my hand was worth the fight that would be the result of it.<p>

"Batman…" I attempted a greeting.  
>"I, eh…is there a reason I'm <em>here <em>and not, you know…prison?" I wanted to smack myself. _Eh? Yeah, Mandy, that makes you sound intelligent.  
><em>"Would you _prefer_ prison?" He asked.

My eyes widened in panic. "Oh, no_, no_…this place—this place is _amazing_…" I told him truthfully. Actually, 'amazing' hardly did the building justice.  
>Batman nodded, and Canary looked pleased.<br>_Okay, I said something that they liked. What's that mean?_ _Jeez, I'm so frickin' nervous_.

"I'll get to the point." Batman announced.  
><em>Finally<em>, I was _this far_ away from passing out from the stress.  
>"Commando, how old are you?" He asked.<p>

It seemed like an odd question, but I was in no position to argue.  
>"Thirteen."<br>"That's Robin's age, are you aware of that?"

I nodded again; I remembered the huge conniption the press had when the Boy Wonder finally entered his teens. He was on every magazine's front page for like, two months. For _my_ birthday I got a cupcake and a Zippo lighter. To say that I was a tad jealous was an understatement.  
>He handed me a file that I hadn't realized he'd been holding—it was <em>my <em>file.

JILL JACKSON AKA COMMANDO was written clearly across the top in black sharpie and stamped with the League's insignia. It was all the stuff they had on hand for the criminal mastermind Commando. A file, just like the ones they had for every villain in their records.  
>Not sure what he was getting at, I flipped through the papers. A copy of my birth certificate, the school records that existed for the six months of schooling I had-no record of my running away, which seemed odd. Then, of course, there were the documents from my, um…<em>occupation.<em> The League knew about things I was sure would stay buried forever, buy the time I was done was hands were shaking.

"Do you know why I've shown you this?" Batman asked.  
><em>To see if you can make my heart explode from sheer panic?<em> I guessed in my head and forced myself not to dart away.  
>To show that I'd heard him, I shook my head.<p>

"You have committed many crimes, Commando. I've seen people get life sentences for doing only _half_ the things that are in your file."  
>I winced, and then nodded. <em>Yep, the man is definitely out to get me.<br>_"But…" He paused.

"You did something that amazed me, something I've never seen anyone ever do before—no _criminal_, at least."  
>My brain spun, what did I do? I racked my brain for an answer but came up with nothing.<p>

"What?" I asked.  
>"When you defeated Flash and Kid Flash, you could've just left, why didn't you?"<br>I shrugged, what did _that_ have to do with anything?

"When I attacked Flash when his guard was down, I…I don't know. I _hate _that. I've seen so many people die because of someone pretending to surrender or be hurt, I…It didn't feel right. I felt like everything that the banker said about me was true, even though my friends constantly tell me otherwise. I figured Flash would be all right, little sore maybe, but I hit his…um…protégé pretty hard. I've heard so many horror stories about aneurysms and Second-Impact Syndrome. I'm no doctor, but I decided I'd just…check. Then the police came and I knew they'd have an ambulance, and I wasn't about to stick around _then_ so…" I gave another shrug.

"You act like it was nothing."  
>I frowned, confused.<br>"It was _nothing_; I don't see what this has to do with prison, though. Could you please just tell me what the damage is?"

"You talk like you expect to be taken to jail."  
>"Well…" I searched his face for any clue of to what he was thinking. But the man's face was neutral, he betrayed nothing.<br>"I _am,_ right? I mean, you can't just let these things _go_."

"Actually, I can."  
>The words hit me like a cannonball. What? Was Batman just going to let me walk? No…no, that couldn't be it…what the heck is going on?<br>"Umm…" I blinked.  
>"Umm…"<br>"Would you like to hear the deal I'm about to offer you."

I'd kiss the man's feet if it meant not going to jail, I nodded.  
>"I will see to it that all the charges against you are dropped, I will eliminate all evidence of your previous crimes—except for the bank robbery in Central City. You'll just have to hope that it blows over."<p>

"The one that went public…" I sighed.  
>"Okay, so you'll make the crimes just…go away? Like they never happened?"<br>"To put it simply, yes." Batman nodded. "But, you'll need to do something in return."

I almost bounced in anticipation; I was prepared to do anything.  
>"Instead of serving jail time, I will allow you to stay here and join our new covert-ops team."<br>I stared at him in shock. I kept expecting someone to jump out and yell _'Not!'_

But Batman was serious, this was a serious offer.  
>"Can you…do that?" I gaped.<br>"That's breaking like…so many laws…" My brain was on high gear, trying to figure this out.

"However, I will not make you do anything against your will. You are free to say no. But I don't think you'll like the second option."  
><em>Translation: You'll go the Big House, kid. And considering your a teenager you'll be dead in like, two days.<br>_The choice should've been easy. I mean, come on: A life in prison or a life as a frickin' _spy _for the Justice League, _duh!_

But for me it wasn't. I had other priorities, other loyalties.  
>"Batman…" I gulped.<br>"Where's…? I mean….what happened to my team?"  
>Batman paused, thinking. I didn't dare say anything else.<p>

"Your team has been…placed. In various homes. They will be well cared for."  
>All of my caution and nervousness disappeared like <em>that.<br>_"_**WHAT?**__"_ I shouted.  
>"WHY ON EARTH DID YOU DO <em>THAT!<em>"

"Commando…" Canary frowned.  
>"Do not scream at us, we're trying to help you."<br>I whipped around to face her.

"But…but…Canary, most of my kids ran _away _from foster homes. How could you put them back there? Oh, God. I promised I'd protect them…" I ran my hands through my hair and kept repeating that last sentence.  
><em>I promised I'd protect them... I promised I'd protect them... I Promised…<em>

"Calm down…" Canary gripped my shoulders lightly.  
>"We know, we spoke to every single one of those kids. The League will have trusted people check up on them monthly. Nothing bad will happen to any of them, I promise."<br>_  
>Promise.<em> I scowled.  
><em>Promises mean jack squat in the real world. I should know.<br>_"But there were two kids that weren't accounted for when Lily counted heads." Canary told me, rubbing my shoulders comfortingly.

I smirked. "Avery and Mia?"  
>Canary sounded surprised. "How'd you guess?"<br>"Avery is well... _Avery_. Trying to put her in foster care would be kind of like trying to put a tiger in a cat carrier: Stupid, and pointless because she'll probably maul you to death if you try." I shrugged.

"And Mia…well, she was always a bit….uh, _different._ Always had that 'deer caught in headlights' look about her eyes."  
>"Do you think they're together?" Batman asked.<br>I shrugged. "Av and Mi never really hung out much with anyone. Maybe they're together, maybe not. I dunno."

"So what is your decision?"

I looked at Canary, then back at Batman. I had no idea where I would go from here. All my life I'd worried about others. My own well-being never meant much, but Lily always told me that it wasn't healthy to think like that. Heck, almost everyone I know have told me that. I was on a slippery slope and I didn't know how to stop. It started when life as a criminal got harder. A few years ago, I went by Jill more than Commando. I knew who I was and I liked that person just fine. But then things changed, I started to distance myself away from people. Oh, I could talk big and flaunt my supposed invulnerability like always, but it was so fake. _I_ was a fake. Commando was someone I made up, someone to take my place and take the punches for me. But after awhile, I forgot who I was and my codename became the only identity I had.  
>Jill Jackson? Who's that? I didn't know anymore. I was Commando, in heart and soul. Lily knew who Jill was, and she wanted her back. So did all my Highwaykids. I would laugh and joke around with them as I always had, but it wasn't real. I'm not sure how many people could tell. I wanted Jill back too, I knew I hadn't been truly happy in a long, long time. Maybe I could find Jill again, maybe it'd be nice not to have to worry about my next meal or how I was going to take care of my friends. Maybe it'd be nice to actually live for once.<p>

I smiled, trying to make it as authentic as possible.

"Bring it on."

* * *

><p>HEEEEEEY GUYS! <em><strong>I AM NOT IGNORING THE OTHER OCS! I WILL GET TO THEM! JUST WORKING ON SOMETHING! CHIIIIIL!<strong>_

This is normally the part where I talk about something random, so here we go: SUPERHERO BIRTHDAYS! These are the only ones I could find on that particular site, I can look up other hero b-days if you want, just gimme requests.

**MARCH**  
>21st - Dick Grayson (Robin)'s birthday <p>

**JANURARY**  
>16th - Wally West (Kid Flash)'s birthday<p>

**AUGUST**  
>17th - Lian Harper (The daughter of Red Arrow and Cheshire)'s birthday (I WANT HER TO COME BACK! I WANT HER ON YJ! I WANT HER! But if she is on YJ, wouldn't that make her Artemis's neice?...COOL!)<p>

**OCTOBER**  
>31st - Roy Harper (Red Arrow)'s birthday (Halloween! This amuses me… Isn't there going to be an episode that occurs on October 31st? Maybe we'll get some Green ArrowRed Arrow bonding!:D)


	14. My name's not Robbie!

Hey, Hey, Hey! I'm going to be super busy so I thought I'd get this chapter up.

Hope you like!

:D

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><p><em>Well, its official, the whole world has gone to hell. <em>I griped, shaking my head and grabbing a water out of the fridge. Canary was letting me take a break because I smashed my knee against the floor when Conner flipped me. Not his fault, though. I hadn't been paying attention. I was thinking about _her._ The way she laughed and made jokes after I stumbled, getting Wally and Artemis to laugh with her.

Commando had joined the team. Any thoughts I had about her being half-decent were blown out of the water about five minutes after Aqualad had formerly introduced her to the rest of the team. Her eyes immediately fell on Conner—just like the other girls on this team and I had felt…I don't know, uncomfortable?

No.

The word was _jealous. _

I wanted to pound my head against the floor.

_I do not like her! I do not like her! I do not like her!_

I mean, _honestly_. There isn't _one_ likable thing about her personality.  
>Commando is arrogant. She thinks she owns the world and the rest of us are just here to see how amazing she is. She can't go five minutes without talking back or being sarcastic. Wally thought she was hilarious; I wanted to smack them both.<p>

For the first week or so she wasn't so bad, Canary wouldn't let her train until she got her strength back. But for some reason she always watched us practice, even though she couldn't participate. Even the early-morning sessions that Canary would schedule before we had to go to school she attended. Even though Canary said she could stay in bed because, with her injuries, there was no way she could go to school, either.

But when we reported in for training, _there _she was: Sitting cross-legged on the floor, propping up her head with her hands—waiting for us. Commando had gotten up before Black Canary had even arrived, before Megan had even woken up. And believe me, that Martian gets up _early.  
><em>She didn't offer an explanation; she just got up and moved out of the way, without a word.

Commando was always doing irritating things like that.

"What're you doing?"  
>I jumped, and then whipped around angrily. I was trying to cover up my embarrassment at being snuck up on with rage.<br>It was her, _Commando_, standing there with that infuriating smirk on her face. I could see why Luthor hated her so much. That grin could irritate even Aqualad—and it had, on several occasions.

"What do mean?" I snapped.  
>Commando shrugged, then walked around me and pulled open the fridge door.<br>For some reason, I couldn't pull my eyes away from her. The way her body moved, the way she carried herself it was…hypnotic.

Commando caught me staring and arched an eyebrow at me, her smile widened, "Try to keep your hormones under control there, Robbie."  
>"Don't call me Robbie…" I growled.<br>She pouted in mock innocence; I wanted to slap that expression right off of her face,

"But I like Robbie so much better than plain old _Robin._" She whined, taking her own water from the fridge and slamming it shut.  
>"Robin is such a worn-out name. It's like the name Madison or Lucas, I know like four or five Madison and Lucases."<br>I did too, but I wasn't about to tell her that.

"My. Name. Is. **Robin.**" I said each word slowly, trying to say 'I hate you so much' without my mouth actually forming the words.  
>"Actually, it's not. But Daddy-Bats won't let you tell—will he, <em>Robbie?<em>" She laughed, taking a long drink from her bottle.  
><em>All I have do to is nudge her hand a little, and she'll get soaked…<em> My brain started thinking dark thoughts; I felt my hand reaching for her wrist.

Just before I did it, she turned and kept up her quest to annoy me.  
>"You should probably get back before Canary gets mad, shouldn't you, <em>Robbie?"<br>_It didn't matter that I knew she was right, it didn't matter that I knew she was just kidding around. She just wouldn't _stop._

I slapped her wrist, and the bottle flew from her hand and clattered to the ground spilling water everywhere. I hated myself for doing something so childish, and I hated Commando for making me get so mad.  
>Her dark blue eyes were wide with surprise, then they twisted into shock, then finally to fury.<p>

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She balled her hands into fists.  
>"Every since I got here you've either ignored me, or you've been a jerk! What did <em>I <em>ever do to _you_?" Commando's face was beet red with rage, her shoulders trembled and she kept curling and uncurling her fists. The girl was about two steps away from decking me, but I didn't want to let up. Not this time.

"Me? _Nothing._ I'm more concerned about all the innocent people you terrorized!" I scowled.  
>Commando threw her hands in the air, exasperated. "You just can't let that go, can you?"<br>"Let it go? You're a criminal, and you've been rewarded for it!"  
>"REWARD? Robin, they don't like me. Don't <em>trust <em>me. There just putting up with me because Bats said they had to!" Her fury was momentarily touched by sadness, but not for long.

"That's _so_ not true…" I seethed.  
>"All Wally talks about is how funny you are, Artemis is <em>soo<em> impressed by your aim, you annoy Kaldur to no end, but he likes you too! For _whatever_ stupid reason!" I knew I sounded like a jealous idiot, and I think Commando knew it too. But she didn't say anything.  
>Commando scowled disbelievingly.<p>

"Conner is Conner, but I haven't seen him talk to anyone else as much as he does with you, except maybe Megan. Speaking of which…" I took a breath, ready to continue my rant.  
>"Megan doesn't count." She crossed her arms.<br>"She likes everybody."

I groaned.  
>"There you go again, acting like you got everyone and everything figured out!"<br>Commando's whole demeanor changed. The anger faded away like water in sand, and she…she...

She smirked.

Not smiled, oh no. Her smirk had so much cockiness and bravado in it; she didn't need a witty comeback or a stinging insult to enrage someone. I was already mad, but in that quick tug at the side at the side of her mouth she managed to make me angrier than I've ever been before. Ever.

"You talk to me about acting like a know-it-all, and yet here you are trying to tell me how to live my life?" She laughed.  
>"You need to grow up some, Rob. When you're ready to talk nice like a big kid I'll be waiting."<br>Commando was pushing me way too far, I felt my arm tense. What would happen if I hit her? She was a _girl_, I couldn't do _that..._Could I?

Commando noticed my trembling arm and her smirk grew until it was covering half her face.  
>"What're gonna do, Robin? You gonna <em>hit <em>me? Buddy boy, I'd love to see you try." She said, bowing theatrically.  
>I probably would've too, if Canary hadn't popped in just then.<p>

"Robin, how's the knee? Do you think you can…" She stopped, sensing the hostility in the room. She saw the now-empty water on the ground, she didn't know what was going on—but she knew it was _something.  
><em>"What happened?"  
>I tried to think of a good lie, something Canary would believe, but as it turns out I didn't have to.<p>

"Oh, me and Rob were messing around and I dropped my water on the floor. No big." She shrugged, picking the bottle from the ground and neatly tossing it into the trashcan. Canary looked like she was going to call her on it, but she must've decided to let it slide.  
>"Robin, are you up for training?" It took me a second to understand what she meant. My knee. I had forgotten why I was taking a break in the first place.<p>

"Yeah, I'm fine…" I mumbled, glancing sideways at Commando who continued to beam at Canary.  
>"Jill, would you like to come watch or…?" Canary started to ask.<br>"No." She cut off brightly.  
>"I would like to <em>train."<em>

Canary hesitated, I willed her to say no.  
>"You're still not fully healed…"<br>Commando frowned. "Come on, Canary. Yeah, I'm not completely up to snuff yet, but I'm well enough to train. Why don't you have Rob spar with me? He's more experienced than the others and we're both around the same height and weight. That way I'll be less likely to get hurt." She said it so cheerfully; I almost didn't catch the dark meaning behind it. Commando wanted a fight, eh? Well, then, she was going to get one.

Canary smiled, and then nodded. "Great idea, Jill. I think Wally and Conner just finished up their round. So you two can begin right away." She turned, walking back to the training area.  
>"Great!" Commando chirped, cranking the charm up to high and smiling devilishly at me. I blew it off as nothing, Commando had no formal training. I thought all she knew how to do was shoot and pull dirty tricks. Poor kid, I was going to embarrass the heck out of her.<p>

When I came back into the training room, Commando stood on one end of the fighting circle, waiting. Everyone had backed away, eager to watch the fight. My relationship with Commando was amusing them, I guess. I saw Wally nudge Conner and whisper something to him. He was pretty far away but I caught the words _'Five on Jill.'_ He was betting, _against_ me!

_Well, Wally, you're going to be out five bucks._ I thought, getting into a fighting stance.  
>"Begin." Canary nodded, getting out of the way.<br>I let Commando attack first, our arms locked together and I tried to flip her onto her back. She let her body relax and wriggled free of my hold, getting behind me. Commando's eyes were wild with adrenaline, she was pumped. She thought she was going to win.

I turned, ready for her attack, but she was faster. Commando leg hooked around mine with unexpected speed and she grabbed a hold of my waist. She jerked my leg out from under me, making me stumble, and then she picked me up by my waist and tossed me over her head. My body made a wide arc before slamming to the ground and knocking the wind from my lungs. My name appeared in a hologram over my head, announcing that I had failed.  
>Commando was getting high-fives from the others; she was such an attention hog.<p>

I leaped up and got back into my corner.  
>"You want to go <em>again<em>?" She asked.  
>"Haven't you been embarrassed enough for one day?"<br>I said nothing, Commando got the hint. "Okay. _Whatever_." She shrugged, getting back into the circle.  
>The same thing happened, I crashed to the ground. <em>Wham.<em>

_Wham._

_Wham._

_Wham._

_Wha-am. _

_**Wham. **_

Commando once again stood over me, grinning. She offered me her hand; I purposely ignored it and scrambled to my feet. Humiliated and angry, I started to storm out of the room.  
>"Robin…" Canary tried to stop me; I ducked under her arm and kept going. There was nothing she could say that would fix that.<br>I only looked back to see our final scores. COMMANDO: 119, ROBIN: -10.  
>And I thought I was embarrassed <em>before,<em> she was just some punk kid from the streets. Why couldn't I beat her?

I could hear her laughter echoing through the room, she always had to have the last word.  
>"Aww, I think I made poor Wobbie sad…" She said in a babyish voice, making the others laugh harder. Even Kaldur smiled, Megan kept giggling in between telling her not to be so mean. I never saw Conner laugh so hard, heck I'd never seen him laugh at all. Not really.<p>

_Some friends._ I sniffed.

And to think I though she was attractive.

And my name's not Robbie!

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><p>Hehehe, this chapter was fun to write. Love reviews! Long ones make me super happy and make me want to update faster! Short ones are okay, too! No reviews at all suck!<br>Am I the only one who thought that Wizard of Oz referance in the new episode was a bit corny? Over all it was a good episode, not enough Spitfire. But enough to keep me satified. I expected Wolf to be the girl, though, and to half cute little mutated super pups...yeah:D

Okay, time for my usual randomness...hmmm... Did anyone else think Robin looked like a blind kid the first time they saw him in his sunglasses? Did anyone else get a little annoyed when Wally said 'Hello, Wally!' Did anyone else want to punch Icicle Jr's dad in the face? I know I did...


	15. Cold as Ice

GREETING PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW AND WILL PROBABLY NEVER MEET!

Wanted to post this sooner, but didn't have a chance. Sorry. I delve a bit further into Commando's backstory here, so be prepared. This chapter also includes one of my new obsessions: Icicle Jr!

:D

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><p>I grinned and shuffled in my seat impatiently. I was back in costume, I had a gun in my hand, and adrenaline was coursing through my veins giving me an excitement high: All was right with the world.<br>It was my first mission—as part of the team, that is.

_You know, people always say 'the team' when they refer to us…_I thought, readjusting my holsters.  
><em>Maybe we need a proper name, something like the Justice League—but that reflects us.<br>_My smile faded a bit when I realized that I had said _us _instead of _them;_ I was becoming party of their team, whether they liked it or not (Robin!)

Megan was easy enough to win over, Kaldur's patience with me wore a little thin sometimes but he seemed to like me, Wally was just happy to have someone to go on eating binges with (when I do eat, I eat _a lot_) and Artemis was like a lot like me, sarcastic and self-confident—neither one of us will ever take anyone's crap. I even got along with Conner, all the boy wants is for someone to take interest in him. Do that, and he'll be your best friend. It was sweet, it was sad. I chose to focus on the good.

But then there was Robin.

That annoying, high-and-mighty, self-absorbed know-it all was tap-dancing on my last good nerve and I think he was doing it on purpose. Yeah, I know the fight we got into was childish. I know that I shouldn't have kept picking, but how was I supposed to know that he'd react so badly? I picked on Wally all the time, and he just laughed it off and picked back. I'd seen Robin and Wally play videogames together before; he'd seemed like the type of kid you could tease and have a good time with. Maybe I misjudged him, I don't know. All I know is that he would never have snapped at any of the others, just me.

The whole smack-down during training was a bit unnecessary too, but when he hit the water out of my hand my give-a-shit took a little vacation.  
>Robin had underestimated me, and I had flipped him easily. High-fiving the others was overkill, I'll admit, but the boy had it coming.<br>Then he wanted to fight again, that was okay. I figured that he'd be harder to beat the next time. But no, I threw him to the ground again. And again. And _again. _

Robin was so mad that he couldn't focus; he couldn't remember anything he had learned, towards the end he was pretty much just throwing himself at me. I knew it wasn't because I was such an incredible fighter, after he left and me and Artemis sparred, she had flipped me within like, two minutes. If Robin hadn't lost his temper, I probably wouldn't have stood a chance. I was good, but they were better. But I was getting better, too. I had gained weight, thanks to Megan's cooking and Wally's almost constant need for a snack buddy, my wounds had healed and I was getting stronger. The bruises and light scars had disappeared, but there was a small scar right above my jaw that would never fully heal. It was nearly invisible, though, if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't even see it.

Only problem with that?_ I_ knew it was there.  
>My moves still had a bit of a rocky edge to them, a result of being on the streets for so long, but Canary was helping me slowly smooth them out.<br>Now it was time to show my new teammates what I could really do.

I spared a glance at Robin, he refused to talk to or even really look at me after the fight. I didn't know how long he was going to sulk, and I didn't really care...  
>I sighed, giving into my emotions.<br>…okay, so I cared a little. Robin really was a cute boy, with his raven-colored hair and adorable features. And he was smart too, which was a plus.

_Sorry, teen hormones, he doesn't like us. We need to move on. _I frowned.

Only problem was, everyone else was too old for me. Yes, Wally was cute, but in a bunny rabbit sort of way. Kaldur was handsome, but not really my type. And Conner was _smoking_ hot, but the boy's social skills needed some work. Not that it was his fault, though. His Superdaddy could be helping him out, but he wasn't. I'll get him for that, you just see if I won't.  
>But, again, they're all older. Besides, Conner and Megan are obviously a thing, and Wally…<p>

I smirked.  
>Well, Wally <em>could <em>have a girl if he opened his eyes a little and got a clue. And no, I don't mean me. Then again, the girl in question hasn't dropped a whole lot of hints for him to pick up. Another little side project I want to work on. Here's my to-do list so far:

_1) Smack some sense into Superman-hehe, that's fun to say._

_2)Smack some sense into Wally—should be fun._

_3) There's that whole Green Arrow and Speedy-er, Red Arrow thing going on, If I don't do something, no one will—smack their heads together. _

_4.) Smack some sense into Robin…er, No! I didn't mean that last one!_

I groaned inwardly, knowing that I did mean it, _a lot_. But there were other boys, lots of them. I know I'm not supermodel gorgeous—but I'm not exactly ugly, either, so I should be okay.  
>The bio-ship landed with a gentle bump, the side opened up and the team began pouring out. Not knowing what else to do, I followed.<p>

Batman had given us a quick de-brief, investigate a suspected villain hideout and report back, Wally said it should be a boring quickie mission without any confrontation—maybe he though I was nervous and didn't want to overexert myself so soon after my kidnapping. But he was dead wrong, I _so_ wanted a fight. I rubbed the soft velvet of my cloak against my face; it still smelled the same as it had the day I got it—like a velveteen rabbit. Which I also own, and if you tell anyone I'll punch your lights out.

Canary said she'd personally gone to my HQ and picked up my costume and other belongings, but I know someone (probably Lily) had gone with her because I'd found my Zippo lighter and my Swiss army knife wrapped up in my little pink purse that I'd kept all these years. There was no way Canary would have approved of me owning those kinds of potential weapons, the only reason she doesn't get on my case about the guns is because I don't use real bullets. I prayed she'd never find them, I knew I was taking a risk bringing them with me today, but there was something satisfying about having some basic tools for survival on you. And besides, I'm not a Pyro, maybe Klepto, but not Pyro. And I don't cut. Still, I knew they'd be taken from me if I didn't keep them hidden. And I wasn't about to give them up because the Highwaykids had bought them for me. Not stole, _bought._ It had taken everyone's help to gather up enough money by helping people do errands and selling lemonade (the little kid's idea) because they had to be careful not to mess up and reveal that they had no one to take care of them—besides me, of course. The lighter had been given to me on my thirteenth birthday, like I said before. The knife was for my twelfth.

Aqualad started giving instructions, tearing me out of my daydream. I only caught the last sentence, though...  
>And thankfully it was the one that concerned me.<br>"Commando and Artemis, you will stake out the back in case anyone tries to make a run for it."  
>I nodded in understanding; Arty and I both used long-distance weapons. We could bring down our opponents quickly and without getting too close—odds were they had guns.<p>

_But so do I._ I smiled.

"If worst comes worst Miss Martian will telepathically contact both of you to come inside and assist."  
>"But it's probably nothing, right?" I piped up.<br>Robin glared at me like he couldn't believe I'd dare to speak, but Aqualad nodded to me and seemed pleased that I was giving some input.  
>"Yes, but we can't be too careful."<p>

Shrugging, I followed Artemis behind the building. She stood a good ways off, hiding behind a trashcan. I was kneeling behind a mound of garbage across from her. I know I should've been paying closer attention to Aqualad and Batman during the debriefing, but come on; this whole spy thing was new to me. And I wasn't sure how to act, either. I was no longer the leader, so what did that leave me? What was I supposed to do?  
>I eyed the security cameras warily, but Robin must've hacked the system. I could tell even from my hiding spot that they were disabled.<p>

Sirens pierced the air as the building's crappy security system finally kicked in. I started to charge into the building, but Artemis shot a soft-tipped arrow at my head. Telling me without words to get back down. I grumbled irritably, but went behind the smelly mountain of trash again.  
>I double checked to make sure my gun was loaded (Stunners only, of course!) Artemis had her bow drawn. We were ready.<p>

I could hear the sound of fighting inside and I frowned, confused. If the fighting was inside, why were we out here?  
>Then I got it. Because of me. Aqualad appointed Artemis for babysitting duty, to make sure I didn't get hurt or betray them or run away or something. Now that I think about it, I had seen Canary whispering quietly with Kaldur before the debrief, she'd probably asked him to keep an eye on me. I felt a lump of anger rise in my chest before a little voice in my head snapped.<p>

_She's just worried about you, ya dumbass!_

Yeah, that's right. I don't know about you guys but my conscience isn't a cricket with a frickin' hat and funny little suit, _my_ little voices like to yell and swear at me…Jerks.  
>Still, I had every right to be mad. How where they ever going to trust me if they kept me on the sidelines?<br>My ears perked up at the sound of panting and feet thundering across the floor—someone was coming this way. Artemis looked surprised, but she quickly got ready to leap into the clearing. My finger curled itself around the trigger in anticipation. I was going to go out with only one gun for this fight. It only sounded like one guy, maybe two. So I wasn't too concerned.

The back doors flew open and I heard the roar of battle at full volume for the first time. The man was young, no more than a boy, really. He stopped outside the doors, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.  
>"GO!" Artemis yelled, springing to her feet.<p>

But I was smaller than her—which made me quicker and more agile. I got to my feet and dove at the guy trying to escape. I didn't even _need_ my gun for this loser. My fist was about three inches away from his forehead before he stumbled backwards and I got a good look at his face.  
>My jaw dropped, I almost lost my grip on my gun.<p>

It was Cameron Mahkent, Icicle Jr.  
>I hadn't recognized him at first because his head was down and he wasn't 'iced up.' He probably went back to his original form because he was so exhausted and could barely s<em>tand <em>let alone keep his ice going.  
>You're probably wondering why I didn't just drop the guy. Well, you see…I couldn't. Jr. was one of my oldest friends, I knew him way before I met Lily. <em>Way<em>before I started the Highwaykids, when I was still a loner. Seeing him here, intruding in my new life as a member of the team brought back a flood of old memories.

Back then, I was really desperate. I knew I needed money, but I was just a kid. For awhile I slept in a unused shed that belonged to a house that the previous owners couldn't sell. There were rumors that it was haunted or something. Anyway, everyday I would walk over to a nearby homeless shelter and got meals from them. The people there were nice, but they asked too many questions. _Where do you live? Did you come here alone? Where are your Mommy and Daddy?  
><em>I didn't have an answer for any of them. So, I decided that I couldn't go back to the shelter anymore.  
>That left only one option: Steal.<p>

I started small, I'd walk into a store and browse the aisles real casual-like. I only went into gas stations or mini-marts. You know, stores with exists real close to the food? I'd pick up something and go into the security camera's blind spot (I learned about the dangers of cameras real quick) Then I'd stuff it in my shirt and walk calmly back out. You can't just run, running is suspicious. I still got caught a lot, though. So I needed a new way to get food. A better way.  
><em><br>_Then I figured it out: Steal for others. I was a bit of a neighborhood hero back then, almost all the children knew me and promised not to tell anyone that I lived alone. Many of those kids would ask me to steal stupid stuff for them, toys or snacks—whatever they wanted; in return I got their pocket change and a bagged lunch. That was my fee.

Then I met a bunch of teens and young adult hanging around in the alleyways by one of my favorite places to steal from, a mini-mart named Munchies that had cameras that stopped working like two years ago and employees that hardly paid attention to what was going on it the store. They smelled funny, and were holding weird glass tubes, potheads. Though at the time I didn't even know what a _drug_ was, so I didn't have the sense to stay away from them. You can probably guess where that led; dealers often stole from other dealers. I guess it was much easier to get someone else to do it, you know, _safer.  
><em>I'm not proud of any of it, but hey, I was a good thief and I was cheap…uh, that came out wrong.

The druggies loved me; I remember this one dude named Mike. He was a karate teacher, or at least he was before someone found a joint in his gym bag. He let me stay at his place, he taught me some basic moves—he wasn't very good himself, grant it. How he got his job in the first place is beyond me. The man was nice, but I knew he'd never amount to anything. He's the one who gave me my first gun—for self-defense, he said. The man wanted me to stop stealing, he loved me like a daughter, but he couldn't convince me. I wanted to stay independent, you know? So he decided to make me as safe as he could. One day he was watching me practice and called me a 'little commando.' I guess the name stuck.

Word about my thieving got out, people heard about my uncanny ability to almost never miss a target, they heard how young I was…unfortunately, the wrong people heard. One day I was listening to a guy about some stolen cocaine and I was approached by a man, who turned into one of my best clients. He was Icicle Sr., Cameron's dad. He had me steal various things from laboratories and warehouses from weapon manufacturers. During one of our, ahem, _transactions_ I met Jr. He had come across as a jerk, but I always was good at reading people.

I took one look at him and thought, _This boy is sad, his daddy doesn't like him at all.  
><em>A little kid with a parent that hates their guts: Gee, where have we heard _that_ one before?  
>I felt a connection with him, and besides—he wasn't half bad when you got to know him. Cam was always a good buddy; we played together while his father examined the goods. We trained together for awhile, Cam's dad had a sensei hired to teach his to fight and he let me stay for some of the sessions. The man was a jerk and we spent more time pranking him than actually learning.<p>

When Mike got arrested for drug possession, Cam helped me find a warehouse to live in. I invited him over a few times, except back then I called it my 'secret hideout' instead of an HQ. I know what your thinking, '_Awww_, that's so cute' or maybe you're just laughing at how ridiculous it sounds. Go on and laugh, haters, Cam and I had fun. He had been the one to tip me off that his dad was stiffing me cash, he was only giving me about a fourth of what he promised. (Another reason I decided to steal only for myself and my friends) Come on, I was a frickin' kindergartener! How was I supposed to know?)

Afterwards, we kept in touch, sometimes I'd come home and find Cam sprawled out on whatever mattress or bed happened to be there. It was a tad annoying sometimes because I'd have to explain to the smalls and the new kids why the Supervillain Icicle Jr. was lying in the middle of our headquarters, then get him to a separate room and listen to whatever problem he was having. Sometimes he needed me to front him some cash when he owed somebody and couldn't pay, sometimes he needed help with missions his dad decided to send him on, and sometimes he visited me just to vent. I know, I bailed him out a lot, but it never felt like he was using me.

You didn't see his face whenever I helped him, he was always so grateful—But also embarrassed because he needed help from a kid four years younger than him. He would thank me over and over and tell me that he'd help me out if I ever needed it. And damn, he kept his word. Whenever I called, whether it was just to tell him we were moving so he'd know where I was (something Lily never liked, but whatever) or if I actually needed him he'd be there within the hour. Ready to assist whatever I needed or to offer his assistance with the move or anything else I might need. Lily should've called him when I went missing, but a lot of kids didn't trust him. And, hey, who could blame them?  
>Artemis was the one to wake me up.<p>

I might not have been able to hurt Jr, but Artemis clearly had no problem with it. But at that precise moment he caught his second wind.  
>In a flash, his body was encased in ice and he aimed a large blast of frozen water at Artemis. Cameron wouldn't kill her, I knew, he never crossed that line—but still, she'd be up to her neck in ice. He could do serious damage if he wasn't careful.<p>

"NO!" I screamed, and Cameron looked at me in confusion, like 'why do you care?' I had no time to explain, so I just begged with my eyes. He flicked his wrist and the ice changed directions, freezing only her feet. He did, however, allow a ball of ice to crack Artemis in the head and knock her out. It was sort of funny, actually. Artemis fell forward and landed flat on her face.

I scowled at him and gave him the 'I-told-you-not-to-hurt-her-look.' He shrugged and smiled at me. Not grinned, _smiled_. Cameron always did have a nice smile.  
>But what he said next turned my blood cold.<br>"Hey, hey, Jillie J—what's happening?" He laughed.

That's what he always said to me when we met, he never forgot. Normally I'd smile back and reply, "Wassup, Cam?"  
>But not today.<br>Because just as he said that, Robin appeared in the doorway—holding an explosive.

He tried to throw it at Cam's feet, but he overshot it and it landed directly between us. Cam gaped at it for a second before dodging to the right and making a shield of ice to protect him.  
>I, however, was not so lucky.<br>I scrambled backwards, out of the way, but the force from the blast carried me off my feet and into the pile of garbage I'd been using as a barrier.

I should've been furious, but I was too dazed by the shock to do anything but lie there and try to keep my eyes open.  
>Robin's face appeared above me, and he roughly pulled me to my feet. He was mad, clearly. But I didn't care, my head hurt.<br>And Robin yelling in my ear sure wasn't helping anything. "Get inside, help the others." He snapped, jogging over to Artemis.

"Icicle Sr. is still in there along with a bunch of his lackeys; don't worry though—your _boyfriend _got away."  
>"Boyfriend?" I frowned.<br>Robin's face hardened. "You know what I mean, _Jillie J_."  
>I paused for a moment. Was that...<em>jealousy <em>in Robin's voice?

No, no, that couldn't be it. I got hit a little too hard in the head, is all.  
>I did as he said and charged through the back doors, I followed the hallway until I reached the building's main room. Ice and bullets littered the ground; my teammates had taken care of everything before I'd even gotten there. I wasn't needed at all, I had the suspicion that Robin just wanted to get me away from him. Ice Sr. was unconscious, thankfully. He could tell some not-so-nice stories about me. His lackeys were all similarly detained, bound with ropes and gagged.<p>

"So…" I tried to smile.

"I guess the stories about this place were true, huh?"  
>Aqualad smiled back at me, and then nodded. "Yes, Commando. I do believe they may have some truth to them."<br>"Cool…" I put my gun away. "Real cool…"  
>Robin and Artemis joined us then. I expected Rob to blow up at me then, but to my surprise, he said nothing. Not a word.<p>

"Hey, Arty, you okay?" I asked Artemis.  
>"Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about it." She smiled.<br>I ran my hand through my hair, embarrassed. "Look, what happened with Jr.—I…"  
>"No worries." Wally popped up beside me. "Just a rookie mistake, right?"<br>"Mmm-hmm…" I mumbled. "Just a mistake…"  
>Again, Robin said nothing. But I saw him tense. The only one who kept bringing it up was Wally, the boy picked on me for letting him go all the way back to the ship. His words stung a little, but he didn't know that me and Jr. were friends. He wasn't <em>trying <em>to hurt me, so I let it go.

We got back to the Cave and instead of going to the Mission Room; I made a beeline for my bedroom shouting "Cramps!" As I went. There was no way I was going to risk being in the same room with Robin and Batman after the whole Icicle Jr. fiasco. The cramping was just a convenient excuse. You see, I'm a teenage girl. No boy would ever call me on it; they usually avoid that subject at all costs. I don't know how Martian anatomy works, and Artemis didn't ask about those kinds of things. Canary could always tell if I was faking or not, but thankfully she wasn't there.  
>And I almost made it, too. But Wally, who was unintentionally out to get me zoomed in front of me and grabbed my arm.<p>

"Come on, Jill. What's your problem?"  
>I raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't I clear the first time?"<br>Wally rolled his eyes, "Are you sure? Because that would mean it's been 'that time of the month' for three weeks now."

Crap, I forgot I used that excuse to get out of going shopping with Megan. She never bought anything for herself, but she looked at the clothes to get inspiration for new bod-screen updates. I know girls who would kill to be able to do that. Before it wasn't a big issue, all we did was browse the mall for a few hours. But then she decided to stop _saving _the allowance that Bats gives to Conner, Megan, and I and to start spending it on something else. _Me._

Believe me, that's _not_ a good thing. Megs and I have totally different tastes. I detest pink, she worships it. I think dresses itch; she doesn't care because all her clothes are organic anyway. There like…a part of her skin. Uncomfortable clothes just aren't a problem for her. If you can picture Megan dragging me kicking and screaming through the mall with Conner walking behind us with his arm full of fluffy, frilly, sparkly things then you have a pretty good idea of what our shopping excursions were like.

Wally was looking at me, pretending to be thinking hard.  
>"Gee, Jill. If you went to a catholic school you'd be like a <em>miracle.<em>" I laughed at his rather tasteless joke.  
>"Um…it's not that. I just…uh…" I stammered. <em>Way to go, Commando. You sound real convincing.<br>_He laughed again and started dragging me to the Mission Room by my arm.  
><em>Aw, Wally. You're killing me…<em>I grimaced as we all walked to the room together. Batman was, like always, waiting for us.

"How'd it go?" He asked.  
>"Commando tried to get out of the mission report!" Wally helpfully piped up and pushed me forward, presenting me to Batman like a prized cow.<br>"Oh…" He regarded me with his usual emotionless stare. "And why's that?"  
>"Umm…" I blinked. "Umm….."<br>"I think she's scared of you, Bats!" Wally laughed.  
><em>Thank you, Wally. If I can't rely on my wit to save me I can always rely on your need to make fun of me. <em>I stifled a sigh of relief and turned towards the redheaded speedster.

"Shut up, Carrot-top. You don't know what you're saying!" I growled menacingly and shook my fist at him.  
>"Oooh, so it's true. Batman does scare you!"<br>Conner rolled his eyes and Aqualad shook his head, they knew where this was leading. Megan was oblivious, and Artemis just looked amused. Robin was in Mini-Bats mode, I couldn't read his expression.

"Stow it, freckle-face!"  
>"Jill's a chicken! Jill's a chicken! Jill is a chick-chicken!" He started flapping his arms and making chicken noises. I pounced on him and we wrestled for a few moments before Batman cleared his throat. We both froze for a second before darting to our feet and getting back in line. You do not ignore Batman, that was one of the first lessons I learned.<p>

I gave Batman my best smile and said, in a hurry "Well, I'm really tired so I think I'll just go back to my room and nap for a few hours, bye!" I was half-way to the door before Robin's voice stopped me.  
>"Oh, but don't you want to help report the mission to Batman, <em>Jillie J?<em>" He drew out the last two words.

Everyone looked at me, even Batman; I felt my ears go pink. "Uhh…"  
>"Jillie J?" Wally smirked. "What is that, Rob, your <em>pet name<em> for—?"  
>"No." He snapped. "Go on, Commando, tell them…" He waved towards the others who just stood there and gawked at us, completely clueless.<p>

"It's just… a nickname, I got when I was a little kid. Some people still call me that, it's no big." I tried to sound casual, but I heard my voice catch halfway through the sentence.  
>"Who calls you that?" Robin demanded. "Go on, Commando, tell them!"<br>I balled my hands into fists, how dare he humiliate me like this? He didn't have to utilize the knowledge of my friendship with Icicle Jr. in front of _Batman_. Didn't he know what would happen to me if Batman thought I was a traitor? Or did he know, but just didn't _care?_

"Shut up, Robin. You don't know anything…" I expected to feel familiar rage overtake me, but it didn't. All I felt was sadness. Did Robin really hate me so much that he would try to destroy my position on the team?  
>"Robin…" Aqualad noticed my change of demeanor; I think Robin was the only one who didn't.<p>

"Stop it, _now_…" He ordered.

Robin ignored him.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Robin…" That was Wally.

"Wally was right, you are a chicken."

"Robin…" Even Conner and Megan understood he was pushing me too far.

"Why don't you tell them about what happened during the mission?"

"Robin! KNOCK IT OFF!" Artemis shouted the loudest; Robin glanced over briefly but soon returned his attention back to me.

"Robin…" Batman's voice joined the chorus, and Robin did the most unexpected thing ever. He disobeyed The Bat.

"Why don't you tell them about you and Jr…?"

"SHUT UP!" I screeched, I couldn't hold it in anymore.  
>"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! <em>SHUT UP!"<em>  
>"Commando, calm down. There's no need to…" Batman made a stab at saving the situation and failed miserably.<br>"No, Bats! If Robin wants the truth then he'll get it!" I turned back to him.

"Okay, yes. I let Jr. escape, but I didn't expect him to see him there. He shocked me so I…I just froze. But even if I didn't I probably _still_ would've let him go!He was my friend, Robin, and he still is! You can't expect me to give up every aspect of my life just because I joined the team! It's not _fair,_ and I won't do it!" I shouted.

"If he's such a great friend, why don't you go stay with_ him_?" Robin retorted, there it was again. The brief moment of jealously in his voice. Because of that, it took me a moment for the full force of his words to sink in. Robin had basically just told me to get lost, that he didn't want me around.  
>I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Even Robin realized he'd gone too far.<p>

"Uh, Commando…I…I didn't mean that. I just, when you and Jr…I…" He stammered.  
>"Save it…" I whipped around and raced for the exit. Right before I left I turned around and glared right at Robin.<br>"Thanks, Rob. You just messed up the first good break I've ever had. Are you happy now, jackass?"  
>And with that, I was gone.<br>It was time I got it through my thick skull, Robin didn't like me. He never would. His heart must be made of ice, or maybe his brain. I had to stop kidding myself and go find a different boy.

So why didn't I want to?

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><p>Hey, guys. I know that Commando's first mission sounded kinda like Artemis's, and believe me that was not intentional. I only realized that after the chapter was finished, and I so didn't want to have to start over, so...yeah:P<p>

Random time: Did anyone else think that Zatara looked like a magician? I mean, come on, the hat and the suit and the mustache...it's perfect!:D

Oh, and in the new episode there will be a new character called Harm. Now, I never read the comics, but wasn't he the brother of one of the Young Justice members from the comics? Will she be in the new episode? Will I ever stop asking you these random questions?


	16. Karma

This is my shortest chapter ever, I feel you should know that:P

Enjoy!

**Conrats to Cithariza for picking out the television quote in the last chapter. I'll put quotes from random televion/book/whatever in my fic periodically. If you manage to find the quote your penname will be displayed here, and you will be voted officially awesome, by me. Which means nothing in the grand scheme of things:D: REMEMBER, I DON'T DO IT IN EVERY CHAPTER.**

**P.S: I took some random details from one of my favorite poems and put them in my fic, If you can tell me which one you will be voted Extremely Awesome. Hints: The poem inspired the Highwaykid's name and the claret velvet cloaks. It's a love poem. **

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><p>I am a jackass.<p>

I sat in the small swivel chair in front of the Batcomputer, sighing. After Commando stormed out I had received some not-so-friendly looks from my team, and Batman ordered me back to the mansion. He said that it was probably a good idea for me and Commando to be left behind on missions for awhile, until we could sort things out. That made me feel worse; even when Artemis and Wally bickered they never got themselves _suspended_ from the team. The good news was there were currently no missions that I would have to miss, the bad news?  
>Commando was gone.<p>

…Okay, so maybe _gone _is a little to dramatic. She had left the Cave, and sent Wally a text saying she was alright, but she just wanted some time to clear her head.

That was four hours ago.

I was worried about her, and I hated that.  
>"I am <em>not <em>whelmed." I spun around in the chair once, twice.  
>"Not whelmed at all…"<p>

Batman had demanded that Wally tell her to come back right away, and he had. Commando's response: _**Up yours, Wally.**_

I only knew that because I'd been standing right behind him when the text was sent, he told Batman that she'd texted back saying that she _really_ wanted some alone time and she'd be back soon, however. I'm not sure if Batman believed him or not, but he let it go. Still, I was in trouble. If Commando didn't return soon I'd be the doghouse with Batman, The Team, and _Canary._ I shuddered, wondering if she knew yet or not. Canary would probably go after Commando herself if and when she did, and when she was through with _her…_

I cringed.

Well, then she'd be after my hide.

Batman had tried everything to persuade Commando to come back, he even made Wally tell her that he was about to trace the texts back to Commando's phone and _then_ she'd be in real trouble. Commando had responded to go ahead, because the only thing he'd find was her cell at the bottom of a river. Then she had the nerve the actual dial Wally's number. When he picked up, we'd realized that Commando was making good on her promise. We heard the sound of rushing water, a electric crackling sound, and then the line went dead. Right before she'd thrown it, though. She had whispered into the phone that Wally owed her a new cell. The funny thing was, she probably expected him to go get one for her. I rubbed my hands together, where could she be? Her base in Central City? No…she'd never go _there_ again. Too obvious, and Commando never took those kinds of chances. She had once said that she had hideouts all over the country, she could be anywhere.  
>That led to more questions: Was she coming back at all…? She had talked as if she was, but now…what if she decided that she was better off without the team? What if she located her old friends and started stealing again? What if….?<p>

_What if a meteor falls from the sky and turns her into a Commando Pancake…?_ I shook my head, angry at myself. She would come back; surely she hadn't been so hurt over a few…insensitive comments, right?  
>But then again, I didn't really know Commando. I'd tried to avoid her and distance myself from her since the day she got here, and now I was paying the price for it. Karma's a real bitch sometimes. I absently watched water drip from a stalactite, lost in thought.<p>

What if she _did _get hurt? I mean, she clearly wasn't very popular in the criminal world. I didn't like her—_I DIDN'T_—but I didn't want to see her dead, either.  
>I glared at the blank screen in front of me.<p>

"Girls…" I muttered.

"They're nothing but trouble…"  
>The give you something to worry about, and so moody! I hadn't meant to hurt her feelings like that, but seeing her with Junior….I—it….I didn't like it, okay? Artemis could've been killed, and Commando was just standing there like an idiot. I didn't want to take any changes with potential traitors, not after what nearly happened to the team the last time.<br>But why would Commando betray us? This was her last chance. If she screws up again, well…she won't be heading to Juvie. She'd be off to _big girl_ prison, the scary prison women there would eat her alive. They like the pretty ones down there…

Yes, I realized I'd called Commando pretty. Because, in all honesty, it was true. Her dirty blonde hair framed her face perfectly, her dark blue eyes were the color of ocean waves, she had freckles, like Wally. But hers were lighter and harder to see, but they were definitely there. You just had to look for them. Although, if you were _that_ close to her you'd probably get a black eye…or worse. Not worth it, in my opinion.

Yeah, she was pretty. But she hated me, and I can't say I blame her after what I said. I made up my mind to apologize, and try to be civil towards her when she returns…if she returns….  
>I bit my lower lip anxiously, if Commando ran away because of <em>me<em> I'd never forgive myself. When Batman returned, I vowed, I'd go out looking for her. Not because I _liked_ her, of course. She was still an irritating little tick who I couldn't stand to be around. Besides, I didn't need her. Barbara Gordon, a girl from my school, was into me. Her friends said she'd had a crush on me since I'd first enrolled in the academy in fourth grade. Then there was Zantanna, who had clearly showed interest in me the first time we'd met. See, I had other options…

Only problem: those two girls were nice, and _extremely_ pretty but…

They just weren't Commando.

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><p>HELLO! HOPE YOU ENJOYED! CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW EPISODE TONIGHT!<p>

Epic Randomness: I can't believe I didn't talk about this before, RED ARROW IN A SUIT! He was _sooooooo_ hot! Hopefully we'll see him in the new episode! Remember, it is his birthday! On Young Justice, he's 18 (yes, I looked it up) so this would be his 19th birthday! I will wait while you guys break out the cake and ice cream!...Well? What're you waiting for? It's ROY HARPER'S BIRTHDAY FOR PETE'S SAKE!

Sorry, I spazzed out there for a sec. Speaking of spazzing, I hope Wally and Artemis have there first kiss soon. I swear, when it happens I'm going to spaz, fall off the couch, and die of happiness and my ghost will continue to write this fic...Yea, it'll happen! Shut up, haters:P


	17. Reflections

Hey, guys! Update time!

I was going to write a Thanksgiving-themed chapter, but I don't think I will. I'll try, but I looked at my fic and how the story line was progressing and...yeah.

**Okay, people. Now to tell you who's been voted Extremely Awesome, by me, which means almost nothing!:D (drum roll)...Cithariza!**  
><strong> Cithariza correctly guessed where I got the inspiration for the Highwaykid's name and the claret velvet cloaked from: The Highwayman, by Alfred Noyes. It's my favorite poem, and if you havn't read it then you really should. How many of you actually know what claret looks like?...I really wanna know:D<strong>

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><p>Why had I come here?<br>I was sitting on the bank of one of my favorite places in the world, a pond in the heart of a national park. No one else was here, I was completely alone.  
>I stared at my reflection in the pound—my eyes were sad, but my face was scowling. Mismatched features to match my mismatched emotions.<p>

_Hate for Robin, Sadness for me, Anger at my mother…_  
>I blinked in surprise, the girl in the water blinked back. <em>My mother?<em> Why was I thinking about her? I hadn't spared _that woman _a thought in…nearly eight years. Not counting my dreams and the few moments of lingering grief that they unearthed. Why was I thinking about her _now?_

I took off my shoes and socks, letting my feet soak in the water. The water was freezing (It is November, after all) but somehow the cold helped me think. I had quickly changed in an abandoned hotel building on the way here. My gun was tucked in the waistband of my jeans, against my hip where it was safely covered by my jacket. I hadn't meant to stay out so late, in fact I hadn't even intended to leave the Cave. But after Robin had told the others about my friendship with Junior, after he'd implied that he didn't want me around…  
>I shut my eyes against the pain.<p>

It was too much, my hands and feet had seemed to be on autopilot. They'd carried me to my room and threw clothes and other random necessities into a backpack. After a few moments of cursing and fumbling around with the zeta tubes, I'd managed to make them work for me (it's more complicated than it looks.) I had been taken to my hometown, Central City.

Okay, so technically I was born in Jump City, but that place….I'm never going back there, okay? I'm just _not._  
>I bit my lower lip, I wondered what my mom was doing right then. Was she still a miserable drunk? Did my stepfather really divorce her, or was it one of those things were he said he would do something, but chickened out at the last moment?<p>

I loved Jason—_no_, that's not right, I loved _my Daddy_. Because he _was_my dad, my real dad…well, he's a creep. I've never met him, but I know I hate him. How can you hate someone you don't know? Easy. Lot's of people hate telemarketers and tax collectors, but they've never sat down and had lunch with them, have they? No. With me it's just…on a larger scale. With my father.

Yeah, I loved my dad. But he was a coward. I'm sorry, but it's true. I needed someone to keep me out of harm's way, someone to hold me when I had nightmares and to check under my bed for monsters. But he was to busy avoiding the biggest monster of all: My dear, darling mother. He couldn't show me affection, Mom didn't like that. Dakota and Tyler were the ones who got all the hugs and kisses, the ones who got all the love. I remember I had been jealous of Dakota when she first came along. So, _so_, jealous. When had I gotten over it? When little Kota's first word was "Sissy?" When she had smiled at me for the first time? When she was crying and crawled to me for comfort? I don't know, I couldn't tell you. All I knew was that one day I realized that I _loved_ that little girl, it wasn't _her_fault our mother hated me.

And when Ty had been born, sweet little Ty with his rosy red cheeks and halo of blonde hair—just like our dad's, well I fell in love with the kid as soon as I saw him in my mother's arms. But Ty was yet another reminder that I didn't fit in right with my family. Ty's eyes were multicolored, one blue and one brown like my grandfather had. At least, that was the story. I never met my grandfather, either.  
>Dakota had blacker than black hair, her eyes were dark blue like mine. Both kids had the same light spattering of freckles that I had.<p>

But my hair?: Dirty blonde. Some would say it was a genetic thing. That maybe my great-granddad had that color hair. But mom said no. She said I had my father's hair, my _real _father, she said I had his nose and cheekbones too. Dad would always pop in and say that it wasn't true, that I had my mom's cheeks. But he never said a word about the nose, at first I thought it was because he didn't want to undermine my mom any more, but after awhile I figured it out. It was true; I had my father's nose. My father's hair.

I studied my reflection for a bit longer. My sibling's all had slightly upturned noses and fox-like faces, just like my mom and dad. My cheeks were fuller, my nose rounder. The more I thought about it, the more I truly realized how I must have looked standing next to my family. Not my mother as much, but still… I bet strangers used to look at us and think 'the oldest kid's adopted, no way she's there's...' But, on closer analysis they'd see that I vaguely resembled the woman next to me and figure I was her kid from another marriage.

I laughed out loud... _If only_ that was the truth.  
>I started making faces in the pound: I pouted; I grinned, I bared my teeth and stuck out my tongue.<br>I wonder how much money I'd need for a nose job….how about hair dye?

I shook my head, disgusted with myself. What the heck was I thinking? A frickin' _nose job?_ I wasn't one of those girls who obsessed over my appearance, I wasn't being bullied about my looks, why the hell was I thinking about changing my appearance? I like how I look…even if I do look like _him.  
><em>I smiled, there's my answer. I hate thinking that me and that man have anything in common...

I forced my brain to switch topics, how was Kota? She'd be….wow, she'd be about ten now. And Ty would be…eight. There's no way he'd remember me, he was only a baby when I left…But Kota? I'm not sure. Is it possible she could remember that far back? She was just a toddler when I ran away, maybe that would be expecting too much of her…I sighed, Kota probably had no idea that I existed. And maybe that was for the best. I mean, my mom was always good to her. She was probably doing great for herself, I'm not going to pop in now and spoil it for her. It would cause her pain, and I never, _ever_, would do anything to hurt her. She was my baby sister. And I loved her with all my heart…

I took my feet out of the pond and slipped my socks back on, not caring if they got wet. My legs were numb, so I stomped my feet to get the blood moving again. After I tied my sneakers, I stood up and looked around. What now? Go back to the Cave? But…how am I going to be able to face them again? What if they were just like Robin and didn't want me on the team? What if…what if I was right and they only put up with me because Batman made them. I had only said that because I was mad, but…

I shook my head; this feeling sorry for myself crap wasn't doing me any good.  
>My hand subconsciously went to my hip, feeling the gun hidden underneath the leather of my jacket. Would anyone care if I smacked around a few baddies? Probably not, Artemis did it all the time to work out her anger.<p>

Yeah, I know you're supposed to slap a pillow around when your mad but…sometimes that just doesn't cut it. Sometimes you need to feel some resistance behind your punches, like your beating the salt out of something that _actually matters_. Something that screams like a little girl and runs away from you, preferably...

I smiled; well I guess I've found my entertainment for the evening.  
>I gathered up my stuff and left the park. I walked into town and found the nearest bus stop. Central City was a good place to live, lots of good communities and very clean. But having spent the majority of my life as a street rat, I knew where to find the slums of any 'good' city. No matter how safe you think you are, no matter how good your town supposedly is, there is always danger. There is always a 'bad side of town.' <em>Always.<br>_I dropped some cash in the driver's money box and chose a seat in the front. A woman with her baby smiled at me, and I smiled back, but other than that no one even acknowledged me.

As soon as I saw my destination approaching, I pulled on the wire above my head signaling I wanted to get off. The bus stopped, hesitantly. The other passengers looked nervous; I could tell that no one else wanted to be here. Not at this _time _of day.  
>"Kid…." The driver caught my wrist just before I stepped out.<br>I frowned at him; did he want more money or something? Because I wasn't sure I had any left.  
>"What?" I asked, fearing the worst.<p>

"Look…it's getting dark. This ain't a good place to be at this time of night. Especially for a little girl like you."  
>I raised an eyebrow, little girl? Since when was <em>I ever <em>just a _little girl_?

I smiled at him, confidently. "I'll be fine." The poor man didn't know that _this_ little girl was packing heat.  
>"Come on, sweetheart, I have two kids at home. I <em>really<em> don't feel good about this."  
>I blinked, sweetheart? The last person who'd called me <em>that<em>…was my dad.

"Look." I smiled as sweetly as I could. "My...m...fa…._brother_ is waiting just across the street. There was, thankfully, several parked cars there.  
>"I'll be okay, really." I pulled away from him.<br>The man nodded, clearly not liking it but not as panicky as he had been.

"Alright then…" He opened the doors for me.  
>"Just be careful, alright?"<br>_Careful, me?_ I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. "Alright." I nodded.  
>I stepped out onto the street and watched as the bus pulled away, leavening skid marks as the driver floored it. I'm the only one crazy enough to be here right now, the only one crazy enough to go looking for a fight.<p>

I found a dark alley which I used to slip on my mask and pull my wine-colored cloak over my clothes. No time to change into the clothes that I usually wore under my cloak. Besides, it hardly mattered. As long as I had the cloak I was Commando. I took to the shadows, staying hidden and looking for trouble.  
>Before long I saw two big burly dudes trying to mug some lady. The woman clutched her purse frantically, backing away from them.<br>I frowned, if there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was bullies.

"You like picking on people smaller than you?" I jumped in between the woman and the guys.  
>"Well <em>I'm<em> smaller, try picking on me."  
>The men drew their guns, so did I.<p>

I kicked the gun out of the one man's hand and kicked him in the chest in one fluid motion; while the other guy was watching his buddy go down I shot him in the neck with a shocker. Easy.  
><em>Ridiculously<em>easy, actually.

I rolled my shoulders and sighed, _man, that felt good. _I smiled at the unconscious men before me. To be honest, I had pretended that those two men were big ugly versions of Robin when I was beating them up.  
>I turned around, searching for the woman I had just rescued.<br>I was met by a baseball bat to the face.

The blow knocked me off my feet, and as I struggled to stay awake I saw the woman pull off her wig and her face—a mask. I groaned when I realized what had happened. I'd just been played, and played well, by Harley Quinn.  
>"B-but…how'd you….set this up?" I asked weakly, fighting off the darkness that was creeping its way into my eyes. This had been planned, but how? I'd just been…<p>

Sitting in the middle of the park where anyone and their uncle could've _seen_me. I should've known that the criminal underground would've gotten wind of my friends going into foster care; I should've known that the knowledge of me being a member of the League's new team would leak out eventually. I am not a popular person.

"Mista J had a few of his boys track you, Luthor's offering a big reward for you, ya know that? She grinned.  
>Then I said something really intelligent, like "Ughg….."<br>My arms wouldn't move, my head pounded.

The last thing I heard before the world faded to black was Harley's maniacal laughter.

* * *

><p>Commando can never keep herself out of trouble for very long, can she? Sigh.<p>

Random: Did anyone else throw a fit when they found out there was going to be no new Young Justice this week? Does anyone know when they'll show episodes again? Huh?

More Random: When I first saw Harm I thought he was a girl for a split second. I have no idea why my brain would think that but...yeah. Then I saw that there was no way in heck he was a woman so...(shrugs)


	18. No

Well, I finished this chapter earlier than I thought I would, so...here it is!

:D :D :D :D :D

* * *

><p><em>Come on, Commando. <em>I griped, once more pulling my boots out of a pile of garbage.  
><em>Where the heck are you?<em>

After Commando hadn't returned that night, or the next morning, Batman and Black Canary had ordered us to go look for her. To help her if she was in trouble, or to arrest her if she had run away.

Or, as Canary suggested, to convince her to come back. Batman himself had said he didn't want to see her go to prison, but he couldn't allow Commando to just walk free, either. The decision to put Commando on the team in lieu of serving a prison sentence was not a popular one, and I knew as well as everyone else did that most of the League wouldn't hesitate to put her in the Big House.

To cover more ground, we'd split up: Me, Aqualad and Kid Flash were one group, Artemis, Miss M, and Superboy were another.  
>The others were convinced that Commando was in trouble, but me…sorry, but the idea of her simply running off was too great for me to just <em>ignore<em>. That said, I _did_ want to find Commando and convince her to come back.

Partly because I felt guilty and my teammates were not exactly _pleased_ with me at the moment, and partly because she was a good teammate and clearly cared about what happened to us. I had a long time to think about it, the ice on Artemis looked like it had changed directions at the last moment. Meaning Commando must've intervened at the last moment and stopped Icicle Junior from doing any serious damage. Yes, Junior got away, but without his dad with them the guy is pretty much harmless.

Wally zipped into view in front of us, skidding to a stop.  
>"Well?" Aqualad asked. "Any luck?"<br>Wally sadly shook his head. "She wasn't at her hideout, and I checked all the foster homes in Central that are taking care of members of her old team to see if she…." His voice trailed off. I knew what he was going to say:  
><em>To see if she really did run away and is recruiting her old team.<em>

"And?" I asked.

Kid Flash shrugged. "And _nothing_, no ones seen her. Although a few of the kids started panicking when I told them that Co might be in trouble."  
>"Did they say…<em>anything<em>?" Aqualad pressed. "Anything that might help us?"  
>Wally thought for a moment. "Yeah, actually. One of them said that Commando was never real popular among the other supervillains, whatever <em>that<em> means."

I bit my tongue. "It means that a lot of people would like to see Commando dead."  
>Both Aqualad and KF stared at me.<br>"What? I'm just saying…" I grumbled, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head—Megan's—the first few sentences were in Martian-ese so I couldn't understand her, but she sounded frantic. Aqualad rubbed his temples and Wally jumped, both experiencing the same thing.  
><em>Megan, what's wrong? What happened?<em> Aqualad's voice echoed in my head.

_Just get over here!_ That was Artemis, sounding angry and scared at the same time. Then Megan must've broken the link because the talking stopped.  
>We looked at each other, not sure what to do. KF could get there in a second, but me and Aqualad...not so much.<p>

"Kid, go on ahead. Robin and I will catch up."  
>KF nodded before pulling on his goggles. In a blink of an eye, he was gone. The only evidence that he'd actually been there at all was the dirt clouds his feet had kicked up. Aqualad and I hurried after him, using rooftops and alleyways to reach our other teammates's position quicker.<p>

"Robin…" Aqualad turned to me as we ran.  
>"Yeah?" I almost tripped over a trashcan because I'd taken my eyes off of the street to acknowledge him.<p>

"I have a question, one that's been bothering me for awhile: Why did you expose Commando's friendship with Junior in front of the team—and Batman, who you know very well holds her fate in his hands."  
>I sighed; I was wondering when someone would ask that. To tell the truth, I wasn't really sure.<p>

I mean, Commando's relationship with Icicle Jr wasn't hurting anything, not really. Like I said before, because of Commando Artemis escaped serious injury. So why had I? I had come up with a bunch of reasons, but those were only part of it. There was something else, something I wasn't sure about.  
>"I…I don't know." I admitted. I'd been saying that a lot since Commando showed up. <em>I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. <em>

I decided to just go with the excuse that the logical part of my brain came up with.

"Artemis could've been killed." I began, and even as the words left my mouth I knew they sounded fake.  
>"And after what almost happened to us with the whole spy scare the last time…well, I guess I just didn't want to take the chance."<br>Aqualad paused, and I almost ran into him.

"So you think Commando is a traitor?"  
>In my head, I yelled at my own idiocy. Now Aqualad would have even <em>more<em> questions.  
>"Well, no. I don't think she'd actually betray us, but…I didn't want to take the chance."<p>

"If you doubted Commando's loyalties you should've spoken to me or Batman _privately _about it."  
>I frowned at him; Aqualad was starting to make me mad now.<br>"Why?"

Aqualad was silent for a moment, and when he finally did speak his voice was calm and even. I couldn't tell if he was mad or not.  
>"Well, for starters, Commando wouldn't have run off and we wouldn't be looking for her right now, would we?"<br>I opened my mouth to say something, but I knew he was right, so I shut it again.

"I don't get why she reacted so badly. I mean, Commando's…_Commando_." I shrugged.  
>"And that means she doesn't have feelings?" Aqualad raised an eyebrow.<br>"Well, no….But I…" I sighed.  
>"I thought she'd get mad and punch a wall or something, then get over it. That's what she's always done before."<p>

Aqualad nodded. Red Tornado has had to replace at least four or five doors since Commando joined the team. She and Wally would always tell him it was a result of an indoor football accident, though. I'm pretty sure Red could see that the holes were fist-shaped and not football-shaped, but he let it go.

"Commando likes to pretend she's tough as nails and that nothing and no one could ever hurt her, and for the most part that's true. She has seen things that no one should have to see—especially not a girl _her_ age. But when you strip away the gun and the emotional masks she's created for herself she is simply a girl. And you humiliated her, Robin. She was starting to consider us friends, and now she probably doubts we want anything to do with her. You may not have meant to hurt her, but you _did_. And you need to fix it."

I nodded, what Aqualad was saying made sense. Commando pushes though, she picks and picks and picks until you just want to strangle her—but that's no excuse for what I did.

"I…I was planning on apologizing. When we found her." I stuttered.  
>Aqualad nodded again. "That's good, but knowing Commando I think it might take a little more then <em>that<em> in order to win her forgiveness. I'll admit, she isn't the easiest girl to work with."

I smiled, how Commando managed to drive even _Aqualad _crazy was beyond me. The girl had talent.  
>We moved forward in silence, staying in the shadows until I could clearly see Kid Flash's big red head bobbing next to Megan and Artemis.<p>

We approached them and I could immediately tell something was wrong. Megan had her head down, Wally was tensed, and Artemis kept muttering furiously under her breath. I caught the words 'kill' and 'maim.' Not exactly _comfortin_g thoughts. Superboy's rage is barely contained at the best of times, but now the guy looked like he was about to explode.

"What happened?" Aqualad demanded.  
>Kid Flash had something in his hands. Stiffly, he handed it to the Atlantian. I could see the anger and hate in my friend's usually cheerful green eyes.<p>

It was Commando's backpack.

I looked at it, then back at my team. "So?" I shrugged.  
>"Commando dropped her backpack, what's the big deal?"<br>Aqualad moved under a street lamp, so he could see the backpack more clearly.

I followed him and gasped. There, on the strap of the bag, was a playing card. More specifically—a Joker.  
>"No…" I shook my head, the full force of what my careless actions had caused setting in for the first time.<p>

"No…"

* * *

><p>Have I mentioned how much I LOVE writing this fic? Well I do. So much:D<p>

**Question (I've seen other writers ask the same thing): What's your favorite part of my fic so far? How about favorite line? I mean, come on, I've laughed at MYSELF while writing this:D**

Random: Without a new Young Justice this week, I feel as if I do not have enough material to fill out this part of my fic. I find myself wondering if you people even read this part, and then I wonder if you do read it is anyone actually laughing at my randomness.

Eh, anyway, here it goes: During the first episode, Speedy (Now Red Arrow) threw his Robin Hood-style hat to the ground before storming off. Am I the only one wondering what happened to it? Did someone pick it up or...or is it still there? Or did the League's janitors like sweep it up and throw it away? Do superheroes have janitors? Are they called superjanitors?


	19. Hyenas suck

I really like this chapter, probably because it contains two of my fav characters: Icicle Junior and Green Arrow!

Read and review, please:D

When I first woke up I thought I was still in a dream. What my eyes were telling me just didn't make sense. I was lying in the middle of what appeared to be a forest. I was curled up at the base of a tall pine tree, one of the hundreds that made a canopy across the sky.

I pulled myself into a sitting position and my hands were stabbed with fallen pine needles. The ground underneath me was covered with some kind of rough brownish-green material. Not grass—moss maybe? I didn't think so, the texture and color seemed off.

I dug my finger into the earth and pulled out a bit of dirt. I brought it up to my face and squinted at it. I was right; the ground was covered with Astroturf. Like the stuff they use on indoor football fields. I turned to the tree behind me and dug my thumbnail into the bark. Plastic.

I stood, brushing bits of Astroturf and plastic needles from my cloak. I reached up and touched my face; my mask was still securely over my eyes. My identity was safe. Not that it mattered; if Lex really was behind this then Joker probably knew who I really was too.

I stayed rooted to my spot, not daring to move. If I know anything about the Joker, it's that you can't anticipate anything he does. The man is insane, but he's not someone I want to cross if I don't have to.

I winced. _Not again, at least. _Yeah, I managed to tick off the Joker too. In my defense, I didn't know that warehouse contained his shipments of Joker Gas. Perhaps drenching the whole building in gasoline then throwing Molotov cocktails through the windows when I _did_ figure it out was unnecessary but hey—I probably gave the Dark Knight a day off because of that. Besides, I made sure I dragged the Joker's team of psychos and freaks a safe distance away before I destroyed the building. I also dug a trench around the warehouse so the fire wouldn't spread so—_it's all good_.

I decided I needed to asses the situation. My cell phone was at the bottom of a river and I left my communicator back at the Cave so no calling for help.

_Note to self: throwing cell in river makes it very difficult to call for backup if needed._ I scowled.

I knew one thing: Joker didn't just put me in the middle of this fake forest for no reason. No…this was a _stage_, the clown was as theatrical as Luthor. He'd cast me in the lead role of his currently unknown play.

_Can you see me, Clown Boy?_ I sneered, turning left and right._  
>Are you waiting for me to do something? To be your little actor in whatever sick performance you have planned? Well hate to break it to you, Jokey, I'm <em>_not playing__. _

They were brave thoughts, but deep down I knew that in the end I'd have little choice in the matter.

My eyes fell on something close to my feet: A picnic basket. A whicker one with a lid, preventing me from looking inside. It had been placed there deliberately; Joker _wanted _me to see it.

I know I said I wouldn't play the Joker's game, but…what if I didn't? The last guy that didn't do what the Joker wanted—well, no one actually _knows_ what happened to that guy. Besides, my curiosity always was my worst feature.

Carefully, I pulled open the lid.  
><em>Tick. Tick. Tick.<em> The basket started ticking like a demented clock; I peered down into its depths and nearly screamed. It was a bomb, clearly, but decorated to look like a pie—complete with a pan and whipped cream. But the wires sticking out of the fake pastry was a dead giveaway, as was the screen on the side portraying a quickly decreasing number.

Thinking quickly, I grabbed the basket and hurled it as far as I could into the woods. Then I whipped around and ran as fast as I could in the other direction.  
>I could hear the bomb began to speak.<p>

_Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven._

The computer-lady droned. I pumped my legs as hard as I could. Have to get far enough away…

_Six. Five. Four._

How powerful was that bomb? Was I out of its range yet? I dodged false trees and leaped over plastic bushes. Thorns scraped against my skin, the might have been plastic but they still stung.

_Three. _

I had to have gone far enough, there was no time to go any farther. I threw myself behind a log and covered my head.  
><em><br>Two. One. Bye-Bye!_

I could feel the heat of the fire against my skin, the smell of burning plastic filled the air. I sat up and examined myself. I was uninjured, aside from the cuts I received while running away from the bomb. The plastic forest was melting, the Astroturf was blackened. The smell of smoke and burned plastic filled my nose and made me cough.

"Well, well, _well,_ seems the kiddie is smarter than we thought, eh Harley?" The clown's cackle echoed through the forest. I turned around, searching for him. It was impossible, it sounded like the voice was coming from four different directions.

"Not a smart as you, _puddin_!" Harley agreed.

My face twisted up in disgust. _Puddin? Really? Jeez, __**that's **__what I need right now: To listen to two insane-in-the-brain criminals flirting._

"Where are you?" I demanded.  
>"What's going on?"<br>The laugh once again filled the air. I gritted my teeth; Joker was seriously starting to tick me off.

"Kiddie Commando wants to know what's going on, does she? Well then I'll be a good sport and tell you. We're going to play a game, sugarlips. If you lose, you die."

"And if I win?" I asked, purposely ignoring the 'sugarlips' comment.

"Then I had you over to Luthor and you still die! Won't that be fun?" He giggled.

_So if I lose, I die. If I win, I die. _I frowned.  
><em>Boy, I <strong>really <strong>wish I had my cell right now.  
><em>I sighed, If I was going to get out of here, I was going to have to play by Joker's rules. At least Luthor is more predictable.

Fine, I'd play the Joker's game. And I was going to win, and get out of this _alive._

"Okay, clown, what's your game?" I squinted through the trees, where the heck _was _he? "Don't bother looking for us, kid, we planted speakers in that little playground of yours so you can listen to our laughter as you die!" Joker's giggling increased.

_I swear, he laughs one more time I'm gonna tweak. _I balled my hands into fists.

"Answer me, freak. What's your game?"  
>"It's simple, really." Joker's voice turned colder.<br>"Don't get eaten."

Before I could ponder on what_ that_ meant, I heard the barking and yelping of the clown's pets: The Joker's twin hyenas.  
>"I'd run if I were you." Harley chirped.<p>

I saw the hyenas charging through the underbrush towards me, I gulped. They were _huge._ The animals were all muscle, their bulky shapes tearing through the fake foliage like they were made of paper. I could see their horrible yellow teeth gnashing in the air, eager to sink into something softer and more satisfying—like my flesh.

I did the only sensible thing I could, I ran.

I pumped my arms and legs hard, desperately trying to outrun the beasts. I reached for my holsters and located my pistol—the only gun I'd brought with me. I expertly cracked it open to see if it was loaded. It was, but I only had a single bullet. A regular shell, not a shocker or a rubber bullet, this one was pure steel.

The Joker had left me with only one bullet, why? So I could defend myself?  
>I turned slightly, craning my neck so I could see behind me. The hyenas were fast; no matter how fast I ran they still easily kept pace with me. They were catching up; I could see the hunger and excitement in their wild golden eyes.<p>

_No._ I decided grimly. _It's another part of the game: One bullet, two enemies. He's trying to make me squirm, and its working. _  
>I veered to the right, leaping over a thorn bush. I kept going as soon as my foot touched the ground again, even though my side was starting to ache.<p>

The hyenas fumbled around in the thorns for a moment, buying me some time. But the bush was fake; it wouldn't keep them busy forever.

I kept running, I couldn't keep this up much longer. Was this some kind of giant room? If so, where the heck was the exit and how long would it take for me to get there?

_"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf? Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, definitely Commando!" _The Joker sang.  
>"Don't give up your day job, pal." I hissed through gritted teeth, not breaking stride.<p>

" _One day Little Red Riding Hood went running through the woods…" _Joker laughed.  
>"<em>It's a pity she'll never make it to grandma's house..."<br>_I frowned, so that was it. Joker was basing this little performance off of the classic nursery rhyme.

But hey, in the newer version the wolf gets chopped to pieces by a woodsman.

_If there are any woodsman around now would be a good time to help._ I thought, busting into a clearing and... I stopped dead, and put my arms out for balance, struggling to stay upright. After a few moments of panic I got my balance and backed up a few feet, I had almost run right off a cliff; the ground suddenly ended and emptied out into a big black nothingness. I couldn't even see the bottom.

I looked up a little and noticed that the whole forest was encased by concrete walls. I couldn't see it from inside the forest because the trees blocked my view of the sky. Forcing myself to look higher I saw a tinted plastic pane, like an observation window in a zoo. Behind it were the smiling faces of Joker and Harley. I scowled at them and turned, looking for the hyenas.

They leaped into the clearing, salivating at the mouth and breathing heavy. They almost looked like they were smiling, like they were _happy_ to have the honor of killing me.

I braced myself, I had an idea. But if it didn't work I was either a pancake, or dog food.

"Here, doggies. Come to Commando you big, stupid, mutts!" I called, beckoning them forward with my hands. They charged, almost as if they understood I was taunting them.

As soon as the first one came close enough, I jumped upwards, using its massive snout like a springboard. I landed just beside the beast and gave it a hard kick to the rump. The hyena tried to stop by sinking its claws into the earth, but it ended up skidding off the cliff. The second one did manage to stop, and it bared its teeth at me. It clearing wanted revenge for its friend.

I aimed my gun at the creature's head, right between the eyes, and pulled the trigger. The gunshot rattled me, I bit my lip as the hyena's body lurched sidewise—sliding off of the edge just like its partner. I knew feeling bad for them was ridiculous, but hey—I liked animals. And besides, that was the first time I'd ever killed something with my gun. It…it didn't sit right with me.

Apparently, it didn't sit right with _Harley_, either

"MY BABIES!" She screeched.  
>"YOU KILLED MY <em>BABIES<em>, YOU LITTLE _BRAT_!"  
>My face paled, Harley's white face had turned beet-red. Her usual grin was replaced with an enraged sneer, he fists shook with anger. In Commando-speak, we call this a <em>'problem.'<em>

"Uh-oh…" I whispered, backing away from the observation window.

"Ooh, you've done it now, girlie!" The Joker turned to his girlfriend.

"Harley, dear, would you like to do the honors?"  
>Harley pushed the Joker out of the way and hunched over something I couldn't see, a control panel, maybe?<p>

My question was answered when I felt the ground begin to tip. It was like the whole forest was on a giant panel that someone was slowly turning upwards. I ran back the way I came, trying to get to the top of the panel. If I could do that, I might be able to cling to the ledge and hold on. But what then? I'd be safe for awhile, but if and when I let go…_SPLAT._ No more Commando.

The ground continued its steady incline; I found it harder and harder to keep up a steady speed. There, I saw it, outlined against the concrete sky. A flat area against a straight edge, wide enough I could probably sit on it. The ground lunched again and I made a wild grab for it, my hand stretched as far as it could….and I missed. My fingers narrowly slipping over the handhold. The panel was nearly completely straight now, and I began to slide backwards. Towards the cliff and certain death.

"NO!" I screamed, hands and feet madly scrabbling for something to grab on to. The plastic plants and trees were ripping free of the Astroturf and falling into the abyss. By some miracle I managed to catch hold of a man-made groundhog hole. I buried both hands deep inside it, clutching desperately at the small dip in the ground.

My feet were hanging over nothing but air, still trying to dig themselves into the frighteningly loose earth.

_If I sneeze now, I'm gonna die._ I told myself, clenching my teeth in determination. I had to survive! I _had_to!

"GO ON AND _**DIE **_ALREADY!" Harley bellowed.

_Give it a minute or two, Harley…_My fingers were started to hurt, I couldn't hold on forever. I know trying to convince the Joker not kill you is like trying to convince a cat not to jump on the counters, but I had to try.

"You can't kill me!" I shouted, praying that they could hear me. "You _need _me alive! Luthor's paying you too…."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE STINKIN' MONEY! THIS IS ABOUT _REVENGE_!" Harley snarled back.

"_Oooh_, I just love it when you're like this! Makes me all _tingly_!" Joker giggled.

I swallowed; well it was worth a try.

My hands couldn't take it anymore, they slipped and I felt myself begin the plummet towards oblivion.

"Oof!" I stopped sliding; something—or some_one_—had broken my fall. I was laying face-down so I could see the blackness below, but my body was being carried up. I shivered, something cold was pressing against my clothes. But if being chilly is the price of _living_, well…I think I can tough it out for a bit.

"NO!" Harley shouted in protest. "NO! NO! _NO!_"  
>"NO!" Joker echoed. "NO! NO! <em>NO<em>!"  
>"YES! YES! <em>YES<em>!" I laughed, rolling my body so I could see who had saved me from splattering all over the floor. I wasn't sure who I was expecting to see, but when I looked at the face of my rescuer I was dumbstruck. I was looking at the face of Cameron Mahkent.

He smirked at me and held me closer to his chest with one arm, while his other was busy making an ice bridge—carrying us up and away from the fake forest. I dared to look down, the height was making me dizzy but I could see the forest below. The panel was standing completely sideways, with various artificial plants clinging hopelessly to the ground-up tires that passed as soil. Getting a little nauseous, I buried my face into his chest and waited for it to pass.

"Cameron?" I pulled away and looked up at him.

"Hey, hey, Jillie J—what's happening?" he grinned, setting me down onto the ice. It was actually kind of cool; Cameron was purposely making steep dips and crazy swirls to make the ride fun.

"Wassup, Cam?" I replied with a smile, holding onto his free arm because I would probably slip and fall if I didn't.

"How'd you know where to find me?" I asked, my smile fading away.

He frowned "I….heard Joker's hired goons bragging about nabbing the Commando girl for their boss and I… I thought they were probably lying because you're with the super-kiddies now, but….I…I just didn't want to chance it, okay?"  
>I smiled again, it wasn't too often that Icicle Junior stuttered over his words like that.<p>

"I'm glad you didn't." I let out a nervous laugh. I'd be a grease spot on the pavement right now if you hadn't stepped in."  
>Junior paused at a large gaping hole in the wall before angling the bridge so we could slide in. The edges of the hole were craggy with ice shards and I assumed that was where Cameron had entered. I found myself in a tunnel, Cameron flicked his wrist and we shot straight up towards a bit of light in the sky.<p>

"We were underground?" I mused.  
>"Of course, how else do you think Joker could hide something so big?"<br>I shrugged. "Well, excuse me; I was a bit busy being chased by hungry hyenas."

"What's with that artificial forest thing? I mean, no way he could've set that up so quick."

"He's had it for awhile." Cameron smiled a glint in his eye as he spoke. He always loved knowing the hows and the whys about everything.  
>"It was a cage for his hyenas originally, but I guess he figured it could double as a holding cell for you." Cameron's eyebrows knit together and he turned back to me, concern etched all over his face.<p>

"Speaking of which, are you okay?"  
>I yawned. "Yeah, I'm fine just…just tired." I leaned against him and rubbed my eyes.<p>

"Just a little farther, Jill, I…I contacted the League."  
>My eyes widened, I pulled away from him. "You…what?"<br>He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you uh…you do want to go back, right? Cause if not I can always…"

"No!" I interrupted frantically. "I mean, umm…no, I'm going back I just…isn't that risky? For you?"

Cameron smiled. "Well, I didn't exactly go out and say 'Hey, I'm Cameron Mahkent aka Icicle Junior! Please come arrest me!' I dropped an anonymous tip on where you'd be. Some superidiot should be along to collect you shortly after I leave, okay?"

I nodded. "Cameron?" I said.  
>"Hmm?"<br>"Thanks. For coming to get me." I smiled.  
>"Huh? Oh, yeah, no problem." He returned my smile.<p>

I looked down again; we were sweeping over a city now. The buildings looked like they'd been arranged by a toddler; the cars and people were so tiny they looked like toys.

"Ready?" Cameron grinned.  
>"Ready for wha<em>aaaaaaaaaaa<em>?" Cameron inclined the bridge and we shot downwards, picking up speed as we slid. My screams soon turned to giggles as Cameron threw in extra loops and dips. It was like being on a roller coaster, except cooler.

We stopped so abruptly I almost got the wind knocked out of me. We were standing behind a warehouse of some sort. I think it was a Munchies storage unit or something. Cameron picked me up, bridal-style, and carried me inside through a back door. He'd obviously prepared it, a mattress with a quilt and a pack of cookies on it stood it the one corner of the room. He carried me over to it and set me down on the covers. I yawned again; almost dying really makes you sleepy. I'd probably scarf down the cookies later.

Cameron awkwardly patted my shoulder and turned, ready to go.

As soon as I saw him turn away I leaped out of bed and almost tackled him with a bone-crushing hug. Cameron was in his ice-form, so his skin was freezing, but I didn't care. Slowly, as if he was afraid I might break, he returned the hug.  
>"Cameron." I mumbled into his t-shirt. "You are my friend. Nothing will ever change that. No matter what paths we choose, you hear me?"<br>He pulled away from me, nodding in agreement with the biggest smile I've ever seen plastered on his face. "See you later, hero."

And with that, he ice-bridged away. I inched backwards into the bed, pulling the cover over my head along with the hood of my cloak. I tore open the cookies, shoving them down my throat so fast I barely tasted them. I guess I hadn't realized I was hungry till then.

Hero? I was no _hero_…was I? I closed my eyes. So tired…

I never thought of myself as an evil or bad person, but hero? I think that was reaching a bit.  
>Five minutes later, I was dimly aware of strong arms picking me up and wrapping me in the blanket.<br>"Guess the Intel was right, huh?" A man's voice asked, although by his tone he probably didn't expect an answer. I opened one of my eyes, just a crack, to see who it was.

Green Arrow: Arty's uncle/mentor/what-the-heck-ever and Canary's boyfriend.  
>I closed my eye again, suppressing a groan. <em>Aw, jeez, Canary's gonna kill me—eh, maybe she'll be nice and kill me quickly. <em>

He stopped talking and began to carry me somewhere; I felt a breeze against my skin and figured he'd taken me outside. I felt him lower me onto something soft, like a seat cushion and I heard the roar of a jet engine. Something was pulled against my chest, probably a seat belt. The jet took off; I could feel it lifting into the air. The familiar tug in my gut indicating that we were in the air. The humming of the engines lulled me back to sleep. And in my dreams I kept hearing Cameron's voice echo in my head.

_Hero. Hero. Hero. _

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><p>Hey, guys! I started getting a bit lazy towards the end with formatting. I'm still working on smoothing that out, but I'm getting better, right? <em>Right?<em>

Random: How many people laughed when they realized that Wally still had his cast on during the Halloween episode, huh? How long will he have that thing on, and why has no one signed it? Like _Artemis_:D


	20. Trouble

Hey, people Read and Review!

Seriously, Review.

Not kidding...do it.

Are...are you listening?

Hello?

Review.

Am I getting annoying?

What's your favorite color?

Why are their four ice cubes in my drink instead of three? DIE UNWANTED ICE CUBE OF DEATH! DIE!

...

...review:D

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><p>I rubbed my temples, wishing the Aspirin would kick in faster. After Green Arrow had brought the girl back, Commando had seemingly stepped up in her efforts to drive me off the wall. Even now, when Batman had called us to the Hall for a meeting, she insisted on chattering in my ear the whole time, egging me on. And she kept using the infuriating pet name for me!<p>

"Hey, _Robbie_, how long do you think it'll take daddy-bats to get here?" She chirped.  
>I bit my tongue, I had to try and be nice to her. Had. To. <em>Try.<em> Commando and I still had shouting matches every other day; they were a real hot topic with the League, apparently. I was careful never to take it too far, no matter how tempting she made it seem.

I wasn't in a very good mood, either. Batman had insisted we come to the Hall of Justice, even though the place was just a tourist attraction. Commando, however, seemed blissfully unaware that the Hall wasn't the League's real HQ. Artemis and Miss Martian knew, as did Superboy. Aqualad had filled them in shortly after they had settled into the team. But…I guess he just didn't have the heart to tell her. She was so pumped, what was the harm in keeping her in the dark a little longer?

Besides, there was something satisfying in knowing something that Little Miss Know-It-All didn't.

"I'm getting _bored_." She whined. The Hall was closed off from tourists today for some reason, the observations windows were empty.  
>"What do you want <em>us<em> to do about it?" Superboy frowned at her.  
>"Entertain me." She jutted out her lower lip a bit, pouting.<p>

He just rolled his eyes and went back to staring into space.  
>Commando turned away from him and started racing for the door.<br>"I'm going to see how Wolf is doing, we left him just behind the Hall, right?"  
>"Yes, but maybe you should not…." Aqualad protested.<p>

Either she didn't hear him, or she was ignoring him because her cloaked figure kept going and disappeared around the corner.

"_Aaaand_—she's gone." KF smiled.

"Does she _ever_ listen to you?" Artemis asked.

"When it comes to the very important things, yes—"

"—But everything else, not so much." Kid Flash finished for him.

"I can understand that, I took her shopping the other day and we saw the _cutest _little dress _just_ her size and she refused to try it on!" Miss M frowned.

"Just out of curiosity Megan, what did this dress look like?" Wally smirked.

"Oh, Wally, you should've seen it! It was pink with little red sparkles over the top and the bottom was all poofy and had red lace over the edges and…."

Megan had a dreamy look on her face. Wally and I looked at each other, we couldn't hold it back anymore—we bust out laughing. Wally started clutching his ribs and mumbled "hurts…aw jeez, it _hurts_…" between bouts of laughter.

"What? What's so funny?" Megan asked, a bemused look passing over her face.

"They're probably picturing Jill's face when you showed it to her." Conner smiled.

"She's been gone awhile…" Wally looked at the clock. "Maybe we should go check on her."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, Rob, whenever Commando is out of sight for too long, she almost _always _manages to get herself into trouble." He raised an eyebrow at me.  
>For a moment, no one said anything.<p>

"Yeah, we should go after her." Artemis broke the silence and made for the exit.  
>We began to follow her, and I could hear Kaldur protesting behind us.<p>

"Wait! Batman will be hear any—" He stopped talking when he realized no one was listening and sighed. He took the lead as we quickly made our way to the Hall's main entrance.

"Hey, man! What's going on here? Let go!" Commando's voice drifted into the hallway.  
>"See, told you." Wally shook his head.<p>

We swung open the main doors, not knowing what to expect. Batman holding Commando by the ear or something, but we were met with something completely different.

A police officer had Commando bent over his car, and was currently slapping a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. The cop's head was white and shiny, like an egg. He had a round figure that made me assume he was a man who enjoyed his doughnuts. The man's backup, four or five other officers, stood a good ways off. Commando was being arrested, but she wasn't going quietly—by any means.

"I said: _let go_. Hey…hey! _OW_!"

As soon as the word left Commando's lips, Superboy was on top of the man, ripping him off of Commando and shoving him aside. With a quick flick of Superboy's finger, the metal cuffs fell away from Commando's wrists and clattered noisily to the ground. Then Conner turned his attention back to the police, he had the one who grabbed Commando by his collar. The men pointed their guns at Conner; Conner had a death grip on the officer. For a moment, everyone froze. Wolf stood just beside the car, and he started snarling at the cop when he saw Conner attack. The other officers switched their guns from Superboy to Wolf; I guess he was seen as the bigger threat. _Ha!_ If only they knew who Superboy was and what he could do—they'd probably run home crying for their mommies.

"Wolf, _no_! I told you to heel!" Commando scolded, grabbing the mutated wolf by the scruff of his neck. Wolf sat down beside her, but he looked ready to tear into the man if he made another move towards Commando. Superboy looked the exact same way.

"What's going on here?" Aqualad demanded, stepping in between Commando and the police.

"I don't negotiate with _kids_, boy, now hand over the girl." He pointed at Commando, who was standing behind Conner rubbing her sore wrists.

"I will not _'hand over'_ a member of _my_ team without good reason." He looked over at Commando.

"Team, take Commando inside and _stay_ there until Batman arrives." He ordered.  
>For once, Commando didn't argue. She just stuck herself at Superboy's side and followed us towards the steps.<p>

"Oh, no ya don't!" The cop drew his gun.

I froze. A gun fight _here_ would be bad. Real bad. Someone was going to get hurt.  
>"What's going on here?" Batman thankfully appeared at the top of the steps, flanked by Canary and Green Arrow.<p>

"Police brutality…" Commando muttered, still nursing the bruises on her wrists.

"What?"

"I've arrived to take that _kid _into custody." The officer snarled, saying the word _'kid'_ like it was some kind of infection.  
>Commando cleared the steps in a few bounds and backed herself behind the Dark Knight.<p>

"Commando." He said, turning to her. "What did you do?"

"I honestly_ don't_ know." She said, throwing her hands into the air. "I went outside to check on Wolf and all of a sudden I was being read my rights!"

"And Superboy and Wolf nearly tore the dude's head off." Wally butted in.

When everyone glared at him, he frowned and said "Well, they _did_!"

Batman raised his hand, quieting him.  
>He made his way down the steps, past us and the fuming Superboy, and walked calmly to the furious policeman. The rest of my team went over to Commando and started asking mumbled questions. She looked terrible, her face pale and pinched and she answered with a series of shrugs and head shakes. What had Commando done? The charges of her past crimes had been dropped. Unless she had broken the law <em>recently<em> the policeman shouldn't be here. I searched her face for any sign of guilt or dishonesty, but I found none. What I did find was more surprising, it was something I'd never seen on her face before:

Fear.

Cold, smothering, fear.

I blinked at her, Commando was telling the truth. She truly did _not_ know what was going on.  
>Batman finished his conversation with the man and began walking back to Commando. Black Canary had broken through the mob and was holding the girl by her shoulders; Green Arrow stood a little ways off. His gaze kept shifting from Commando to the cops, clearly unsure what to do—what to <em>believe.<em>

I turned my attention back to my mentor and bit my lip. The way Batman was walking: slightly stooped, a brooding expression on his face, and hands that kept clenching and unclenching led me to believe that something was very, _very,_ wrong.

Transfixed, I followed him.

He stopped in front of Commando and put his hand on her shoulder. Canary backed away, sensing as I had the trouble in the air. Commando was completely dwarfed by Batman; she had to crane her neck up just to look at him. Batman's massive hand almost covered her entire shoulder. I frowned, why hadn't I realized how tiny Commando was before? Grant it, she was about my height, maybe a tiny bit shorter, but the way she carried herself…I don't know. I guess it made her seem like she had more of a _presence_.

But here, now, faced with the unknown, Commando seemed to shrink. Gone was the cocky smirk and the smug laugh, gone was the sarcasm and the light-hearted approach to life. What was left was nothing more than a scared girl. I bit my tongue. I didn't know why, but I…I didn't like seeing her like this.|

"Commando," He began, the amount of gentleness is his voice amazing everybody—especially the person it was directed at.

"This man seems to think that you are responsible for the kidnapping and assumed murder of a young girl, do you know anyone named Mia Isabella Ellson?" He asked.

Commando opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She closed it again, swallowed hard, and then tried to speak again. "Bats…I—I don't know. I know_ a_ Mia, but she never told me her last name or what happened to her parents or…." She shrugged. "In fact, her name is pretty much the only thing I know about her, but that could be a fake name or something, I just…."

"It's fine." Batman interrupted. "You don't know what you don't know, but this man has a warrant, Commando. You're going to have to go with him."

Commando's eyes widened, she jerked away from Batman and backed away. Her eyes darted back and forth, like she was searching for an escape route.

"Say _what_? Bats I can't….no, _no._ I can't." She shook her head frantically.

"Commando, I'm sorry, I'll do everything I can to sort this out. And you won't be sent to jail, he's just going to ask you and few questions at the station and then you can leave. Canary and I will be there will you, it'll be fine. I promise."

Commando shook her head again.

"I've already paid your bail. I _promise,_ nothing bad will happen."  
>Commando's shoulders tensed.<br>"Yeah, I've heard_ that_ one before…" she muttered, and I could tell that she wasn't talking about just Batman.

Commando started doing the eye-darting thing again, searching for a way out.  
>"How'd they even <em>know <em>I was here?" She growled, hiding her fear by getting mad. Typical.

It was Green Arrow who answered this one. "The authorities have access to some of the Hall's security cameras, not _all_, but some."  
>Commando's eyes blazed. "And why on <em>Earth<em> would the League do a stupid thing like that?"  
>Arrow shrugged. "A lot of tourists come here; it's supposed to help keep them safe."<p>

"Oh yeah? Well it _screwed_ me, so…." She waved her hands again.  
>"Speaking of which, why was the Hall closed today?" I asked. Everyone stared at me like; <em>did you just go weird in the head, Robin? Asking a totally irrelevant question.<em>

Batman's eyes shifted towards Commando and Superboy briefly, before turning back to me.  
>"It doesn't matter now."<br>I nodded. Batman might as well have told me the truth. The League was hiding them: Conner from Cadmus and Commando from the police.

I guess it didn't work out so well.

Commando looked around. "Come on, Bats, there's got to be some way I can get out of this…"

"I'm sorry." He repeated. "But there's _not_."

"_Fine…"_ She grumbled. "But tell Detective Egghead to skip the handcuffs. I won't fight."  
>Batman looked like he was about to argue, but Commando butted back in.<p>

"Cause he is only _asking questions_, after all, _right?_"

Batman hesitated, and then nodded, giving into her request. Batman took the girl by the shoulder and started to lead her back to the cop.  
>The two men exchanged a few words, a grim-faced Commando standing next to them.<br>The officer's shoulders sagged, like he'd lost an argument.  
>The three made there way to one of the other policeman's waiting cruiser. Commando turned, smiled weakly and made a peace sign with her fingers, and then ducked into the car. The officer shut the door behind her, maybe just a little harder than was necessary.<p>

Batman backed away, and the officer who's car now contained Commando jumped into the driver's seat and sped away, siren blaring—more to show off than anything. The other men made an even quicker retreat, apparently the venom-filled looks Superboy was giving them was making them a bit nervous.  
>Batman paused a moment, watching the cars, before he returned to the group.<p>

"Canary, head to the station. By no means allow the press to get involved. Arrow, I want all our cameras rewired. No more interference from the local police."

Arrow shifted on his feet. "But…"

Batman glared at him.

"Oh, yeah, cameras. I'll get right on it!" The two Leaguers took off to follow Batman's orders.

"So that's it?" Conner growled. "You just let them take her?"

"There was nothing I could do, Conner." He said reasonably. "He had a _warrant._"

"You think she did it, don't you?" Wally chimed in. "You think she really kidnapped that girl."

Batman turned to him. "One thing I am very certain of is Commando's love for her friends. Kidnapping someone, taking them against their will…no. That's not Commando. She wouldn't lie to me, not about something like this. If Commando says she doesn't know, she doesn't know. "

"So what the heck are we arguing about?" Artemis snapped. "Let's go get her!"

"I can't do that, Artemis, and you know it." He said. "We'll get her through this, but we have to do it their way. Through the legal system."

"Batman, why are we here in the first place?" I asked, receiving more questioning looks. "I mean, the Hall is…"

"Truthfully, there was a problem with the zeta tubes. I had to stay here to fix them, couldn't get to the Cave in time. I had an assignment for you, but…" He looked at Aqualad.

"I doubt that you and your team are up for a mission right now, are you?"

Kaldur shook his head. "No, I dare say we're not."

"Very well…" He looked over Kaldur's head, to where the cop cars disappeared away to.

"As for now, you can return to the Cave. Canary needs my help." I watched him reenter the Hall with a sweep of his cape.

He'd said _Canary needs my help'_ but to everyone present it sure sounded a lot like _'Commando needs my help'_

* * *

><p>Hey people who are reading this! If you are reading, pat yourself on the back, if your one of those people who skip this part, WHAT? I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU! YEAH, I KNOW WHO YOU ARE *Glares at people untill they start crying*<p>

Well, that was fun anyways: Random fun time.

Captain Marvel, I like the dude but some of the stuff he says...eh, it makes me wince. That's all I can say. I really need a new Young Justice, it's _keeeeeeling_ me! **Acakcakadal134..._beep. beep, beep_, malfunction! malfunction! mal-_func-_tion!** **(System shuts down to reboot.)**


	21. Gifts

Hey, guys, there's a reason I'm updating today and it's because my friend got me sick! Thank you, best friend!:D

Read, like, review, read again and worship. Just kidding!...sorta:D

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><p>"Hey guys—<em>guys!<em> Jill's back!"

I could've hugged Wally then, I just could've. After two hours of interrogation with two large, sour-faced cops with a desire to abuse their authority Wally looked like an angel. A red-haired, green-eyed angel with freckles who eats a lot and runs fast.

Canary had to leave, but she dropped me off at a zeta tube after I assured her that I was alright.  
>My arms twitched, ordering me to wrap my arms around the speedster and cry out the stresses of the day.<br>Instead, I gave him a smile and let him guide me into the living room; he chattered nonstop all the way about cops and cheese fries.  
>What one has to do with the other, I couldn't tell you. I kept tuning in and out, one minute Wally was describing his favorite flavor of cheese, the next I was reliving moments from my interrogation. I flopped down on the couch and watched with tired, bloodshot eyes as the others advanced on me, asking questions.<p>

"What happened?"

"What'd you tell them?"

"Did they believe you?"  
>"Did they do the old good-cop, bad-cop, bid?"<p>

It was Wally who asked the last one, I fixed him with what was supposed to be an amused smirk, but I don't think my facial expressions could quite pull it off.

"It was an _interrogation_, Wally, not an old 90's sitcom. But to answer your question, no, they were both jerks and all they did was sit there and tell me I was some kind of sick terrorist who likes kidnapping little girls. For some reason, they don't seem to understand I'm just a _teenager _myself. Eh, whatever, nothing I can do about it, now, right?" I shrugged, trying to make them back off without seeming like a jerk.

Aqualad, the boy with the ability to ask the most difficult questions, pointed to my face and said. "You're bleeding."  
>My hand flew up to my eye, covering up the wound. There, just above my right eyebrow, was a small gash—maybe one and a half inches long. It wasn't very deep, and it'd stopped bleeding just before Canary had arrived to help me through the interrogation. I guess the wound had reopened.<p>

"Oh, uh, one of the cops got a little carried away during the interrogation—_before_ Bats and Canary showed up. It's nothing."  
>I know I should've just lied, but I was tired and lying wasn't very appealing right them.<p>

"Commando…" Artemis knit her eyebrows together. "He _hit_ you and you say it's nothing, are you feeling alright?"

"Arty…" I closed my eyes. "If I said anything, Canary and Bats would've made a scene. I just wanted to get it over with and go home."  
>I knew I was acting out of character, but come on; I'd been through a lot.<p>

"_Still…_" She shook her head. "You should've said something."

"You weren't there, Artemis. They kept asking the same damn questions over and over again, wording them differently every time. _'Why'd you kidnap Mia?' 'Where did you take Mia after you kidnapped her?' 'Who are you working for, why'd the ask you to kidnap Mia?_ I understand why people confess to murder, I really do. If Bats and Canary hadn't been there, I probably would've told them anything just to get them to _stop._"

I covered my face with the crook of my arm, getting blood on my arm as I did so. They had kept insisting on this tape, a recorded message of someone stating that they were terrorists who took Mia because she _'knew too much.'_ I told them that there was no way that it could be me, it sounded _nothing_ like me. Of course they'd come back saying that I could've used a voice scrambler to disguise my voice. I'd gave them the old '_Dude, lay off. I'm just a kid'_ look, but they weren't impressed.

Someone pushed away my arm, Kaldur, and started dabbing my eye with antiseptic. I winced as he cleaned out the cut and fastened one of those big brownish-tan bandages over it.

"Thanks." I smiled a little.

"But a band-aid won't solve all of my problems. Bats is trying to negotiate, but unless there's some miraculous change I'm gonna go to trial. As of right now, the verdict probably won't be in my favor. I got a bad rep, even though the charges were dropped, it won't look too good."

"Did they…find out who you really are?" Megan asked.

"Hmm? Oh no…no. They asked, but like I said Canary showed up—and then Batman. It's funny; they started acting different as soon as Black Canary poked her head into the room. _Weird_." That was a pretty pathetic shot at sarcasm, but I wanted everyone to stop looking at me like someone just murdered my puppy.

"Why didn't you just let me and Wolf take care of those guys?" Conner asked, arms crossed over chest and his usual scowl plastered on his face.

"Cause, Supes, if you hit them…you probably would've _killed_them. And Wolf would've had to eat their bodies and get food poisoning." I petted the wolf on his massive head.

"Isn't that right, Wolfie? Those mean men probably would've made your tummy ache…"

"Okay, better question. Why didn't _you_take care of them?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

I sighed. "Well, buddy, there was five of them and one of me, I'd left my gun inside and their trigger-fingers were about to go off. Add it all together and the situation wasn't looking so good for me."

"How are you going to prove you're innocent?"

I looked around, searching for the person who'd asked the question.  
>It was Robin; dressed in his costume, face blank, hands at his sides.<br>I was shocked, I wasn't expected him of all people to care about whether or not I  
>went to prison. I shook my head to clear it before I attempted to answer.<p>

"I….I don't know." I admitted. "Bats says….he says he'll take care of it. But if I'm right, it won't matter _what_he does, I'll be screwed…" I said, scratching under Wolf's chin.

"Guys, can we talk later? I'm beat. I just want to eat and unwind a bit." I rolled my shoulders.

"Maybe take a nap, things will look better later. I'm sure of it."

I yawned, standing up and headed for the kitchen, not waiting for the answer. Halfway there I stopped and turned back to them. "Wally, I swear if you ate the last of the hamburgers I'm gonna kill you." I scowled. He shrugged and I rolled my eyes.  
>Typical Wally. Can't even remember.<p>

As it turns out, there were plenty of burgers left. Which was good, for the sake of Wally's health. Right now something tiny like that would probably make me tweak out. I microwaved a couple and headed to my room. No one stopped me, which was surprising. I was used to having a bunch of costumed teenagers up my butt all the time, but now they were giving me space. If this is the price for privacy, then I say screw privacy. Let me go post my deepest and most personal thoughts and secrets on Facebook, let the world see into my mind, just not _this._ _Anything _but this.

I sat on my bed and munched on my food. What was I going to do? I needed a game plan. Somehow I needed to prove that I was innocent. But to do that, I'd need proof. Bats was good, but all the evidence was stacked against me. Another good question was, who would want me behind bars?

Heh, _a lot _of people.

I went to the bathroom and took a shower. Sometimes the Cave's design seemed a little stupid, like the huge communal shower that have in the one wing, and all the little mini-bathrooms like the one beside my room. I wasn't complaining or anything, but it seemed a bit 'what's the point?'—ish.  
>I changed into a blue Faded Glory shirt and sweats, rubbing out my hair with a towel. Iwiped some of the steam from the mirror with my arm and examined my face. With my eyes bloodshot and my hair a mess, I looked exactly like my mom did the last time I saw her. I stepped back and let the glass fog up again. No need to make myself even more depressed. I quickly combed my hair and went back to my room, throwing my dirty uniform in a pile by my door.<br>After making sure the hallway was empty, I closed my door and snuck over to my bed.

I squatted down next to the bed and reached under it, groping around for my shoebox. It was tucked in the farthest corner, a small pile of dirty clothes covering it. Not exactly the best hiding spot, but Wally wouldn't dare stick his hand in there, so I guess it would have to do.  
>Inside contained all my possessions that actually meant something to me. I didn't become emotionally attached to clothes like some other girls did; I dressed for comfort more than anything. I guess looking good was never a priority of mine.<p>

I moved my lighter and pocket knife out of the way before closing my hands around the items I was really after. A purse, made of cheap plastic and colored a gaudy shade of bright fuchsia. Normally I wouldn't be caught dead with something like that, but it had been a present from my dad. It hadn't been for any special occasion, really, mom had taken us to the store and bought Kota a giant stuffed teddy bear. She was really heavy with Ty at the time and I could still remember her leaning over the shopping cart and shoving the bear into her eager little arms. She had smiled, an unusual event for my mother, and had told Kota that the bear was for her being _such_ a good girl. Then she'd given me a sideways glance and sneered, like I was devil spawn.  
>I'd said nothing, but I did glare back at her. That she-devil of a woman, pretending to be the perfect mother. I hated her.<br>Kota had been blissfully unaware of the whole situation, playing with the bear that was almost the same size as she was, giggling sweetly and screaming "Teddy! Teddy!"

Dad had gripped my shoulder and told mom he would take me to the car, she gave the okay because she assumed he was going to yell at me for _'making a scene.'_

Instead, he'd taken me back to the toy section and browsed the aisles. I could still remember the crease in his forehead as he tried to find something he could afford. We wern't poor, but most of the cash dad had on him at the moment had been given to mom for the groceries. He'd finally settled on the purse, even back then I wasn't big on pink, but I accepted it just because Daddy had gotten it for me. He'd kept it hidden from mom the whole way home and then given it to me right before I went to bed. When I ran away, I hadn't been thinking about taking mementoes, but I'm glad I did. That purse got me through a lot of tough times; it was like a security blanket.

The second object was another thing you wouldn't expect to find in the room of the tomboy-ish Commando: a velveteen rabbit. Its fur was soft and it smelled like dryer sheets. It had a tan brown coat and lots of white spots polka-dotting its fur. It's was old, the fabric was a little worn out in some patches, it had been stitched up several times and you could clearly see that his ear had been completely ripped off at one point. The rabbit wasn't anything special, but it did have a story behind it. It was a Christmas present, from Cameron.

His dad had been off doing his 'evil supervillain' thing, and neither one of us had anyone to be with over the holidays. I'd managed to lug a tree into my warehouse and decorate it with bits of metal and broken glass. The tree wasn't very big, hey I was five, but it looked nice—even though it was covered in garbage. We'd spent the night scarfing down candy and popcorn, watching DVDs on Cameron's laptop.

Then, around midnight, he'd handed me this crudely wrapped package, and said Merry Christmas. I'd felt bad, because I didn't get anything for him, but he said it was okay, he didn't want anything. I guess the only thing he wanted for Christmas, was a friend. The rabbit was Cameron's from when he was little, it had come with a storybook called The Velveteen Rabbit, but he'd lost it a long time ago. I didn't want to take it, not because I wasn't a big 'stuffed animal' kind of kid, but because that rabbit was one of the first Christmas presents he'd ever gotten, and one of the last things he had to remind him of his mom.  
>Cameron's giving me the rabbit meant something, so I kept it and played with it just because it made him happy.<p>

The last object was more something you'd expect me to own: A handgun. My_ first_ handgun. It was a simple revolver, the metal was caked with rust and if you tried to shoot with it you'd probably end up with a few fingers missing. I kept it for….sentimental reasons. Mike would be in prison for a long time, a _really_ long time. It was the only thing I had left of him, the man who was willing to do the one thing my dad could never do: Protect me.

I crawled into bed, shoving the gun under my pillow and tucking the purse under my ribcage. The bunny I placed in the crook of my arm and pulled against my chest. I yanked the covers over me and closed my eyes. If anyone came by, and I doubted they would, they'd only see me sleeping on my bed. They wouldn't see the presents given to me by the three men in my life: Dad, Mike, and Cameron. They wouldn't see me burying my emotions deep in the recesses of my brain; they wouldn't see how much I was hurting.

As I drifted off to sleep, I thought of how clever I was, hiding away so no one could hurt me.

One thing I didn't count on was that dream.

Yeah.

_That _dream.

* * *

><p>heyy, people! Whatcha doing? Anyone else bummed about the lack of Young Justice lately? Anyone know when they'll air new episodes again?<p>

Okay, Random: Speedy's original costume was red and yellow, Kid Flash's costume is red and yellow, Flash's costume is red and yellow...do ya know what that mean? Hmm? It means...SUPERHEROES ENDORSE MCDONALD'S!

Also, Green and Red Arrow. Christmas colors!:D

Anyone else know of any McDonald's lovers in the DC universe? Or any other comic book universes?


	22. Fears

More McDonald's fans: Wonder girl, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and Robin. If you told me one and I didn't post it here that is TOTALLY my fault. I forgot to write them down, and then I deleted the messages and then...yeah, sorry.

Anyway, read, and review please:D 

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><p>I found myself strolling the hallways of the Cave, bored with nothing to do and no mission to go on.<br>Grant it, we had willingly turned down the assignment,  
>but…I paused at a fork in the halls, sighing.<p>

Commando, _always_ Commando. Seriously, can't she stay out of trouble for a day or two so I can recoup?  
>What was the deal with that girl Mia? The whole kidnapping bid seemed a bit…I don't know…far-fetched?<br>I kept walking, randomly picking one of the hallways.

Yeah, there was something off about the whole situation. Still, I looked at the reports.  
>They had enough….well; I wouldn't call it <em>evidence,<em> exactly.  
>But all they would have to do is run in, spout off the information they have, run back out and—<em>BAM<em>—bye-bye Commando, hope you enjoy prison!

The police are really riding on Commando's secret identity; they want to know who she is. Batman's not budging.  
>Commando's secret identity deserves to be protected, but Batman's refusal to tell...well, it's not helping anything.<br>I suppose it all relies on a trial, if Batman can prevent one—which I'm not so sure he can—Commando's in the clear.

If not…_eh_…like Commando said: It's over. Done. See ya, Co.  
>Not even the League could prevent the police from taking her away.<br>t's actually really stupid, that have to real proof of her guilt.

they're banking on Commando's bad reputation to get her behind bars.  
>That, and the fact that every police officer on the planet hates her guts.<br>Unfortunately, they're actually buying it.

I didn't like it when Commando shied away from us.  
>When she pulled back and hid in her room, refusing to talk to anybody 'cause she's Commando and she's a cool, tough rebel like that.<br>Seriously, she wonders why I don't like her, then she pulls crap like that.  
>I was probably the <em>only<em> one who didn't freak out when Commando came back...

I balled my hands into fists.

Although, I wasn't too thrilled to learn that the cop had_ hit_ her, either.

I stopped, cocking my head to the right. Was that a whimper? Did someone just cry out?  
>I shook my head, no…<em>no<em>…that's dumb. No one's even…  
>There it was again, a soft mumbling of words. I couldn't make them out, but the voice sounded scared.<p>

Intrigued, I followed the sound of whimpers and mumbles to a door at the end of the hallway.  
>Being the genius hacker I was, I knew exactly what it was...Okay, so Batman had made me memorize the Cave's layout.<br>I knew that the room was sticking out of the side of the mountain; one of the walls was made of glass so one could look out and see the beach and part of the ocean. A beautiful view, really. The room was big and it still had an old cofee table and leather couch from when the Cave was the League's base.  
>In those days it had been a rec-room for the League but now it was…it was…<p>

Commando's bedroom.

A sharp cry snapped me back to reality and I threw open the door to see what was wrong.

Commando laid curled up in a defensive ball on her bed,  
>the wine-red sheets a mess and her thick blanket emblazoned with wolves and forest scenes laying on the ground.<br>Her face was contorted with a mixture of grief, pain, and anger. Her mouth opened and I thought she was going to scream.  
>Instead, she let out another whimper and called out<p>

"It's not my fault. _None of it_. It's not my fault…It's…_not._"

She went back to thrashing around on her bed, trying to escape some invisible enemy. She looked...scared.  
>I stepped forward a little, almost tripping over Commando's costume which she'd thrown carelessly in front of the door.<br>She started moaning something about it not being her fault again as I silently snuck up on her bed.

"Not my fault…"

"Hey, Hey Commando. Wake up." I nudged her gently.

"Not…not my fault."

"Commando!" I whispered, a little irritably. "Okay, it's not your fault. _Whatever._ Would you wake….?"

Commando woke up with a jolt.  
>She tried to spring to her feet, but she ended up tripping over her blanket and stumbling.<br>Unfortunately, I was in the way and she crashed into me, sending us both sprawling to the ground.  
>Commando's elbows dug into my ribcage, she had landed directly on top of me.<p>

"Would you get off me?" I hissed, pushing her off and jumping to my feet.

I tried to pretend like I wasn't embarrassed, but I felt my ears go pink and I prayed she didn't notice.

"What were you _doing_?" I asked. I just shook her a little, what was with the whole jumping to attention thing? You'd think I shot her by the way she reacted.

Commando glared up at me from her position on the ground, and responded with her usual crabbiness.

"Hey, Rob, what were _you_ doing sneaking into my room while I was _sleeping_? Did you want to go through my underwear drawer or something? _Pervert_!"  
>She stood up, walking to her observation window and pulled the curtains across it, shutting out the light.<br>More to get away from me than out of nessesity.

Not bothering to answer, partly because I had no comeback for that, I examined her room more closely.  
>Her walls were covered with posters of rappers and bands; I recognized Eminem, Li'l Wayne and Young Money, New Medicine, Green Day, and a bunch of others I didn't know. I got the feeling that Batman wouldn't let me listen to their music even if I did.<br>Her floor had garbage and dirty clothes strewn over it, the doors to her walk-in closet were thrown open and I could see her clothes, CDs, and other electronics bunched up in the center of it. Typical, she gets one of the nicest rooms and she destroys it.

Commando kept playing with the curtains, her body language sent the message loud and clear: Go away.  
>I lingered, just to annoy her. What was she dreaming about, what could scare Commando so badly?<br>I was curious, but I knew if I mentioned anything Commando would tell me I was being nosey.

My eyes locked on something that most definitely did _not_ belong there, a rabbit's ear—sticking out from under a corner of Commando's blanket.  
>I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled, revealing the whole rabbit. A scruffy old little rag that had obviously seen better days.<br>I kicked the blanket and found a purse, a little thing made of cheap plastic colored such a bright pink it almost hurt to look at.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing.  
><em>Commando was sleeping with a toy bunny and a little pink purse, oh this is too good…<br>_I swallowed my laughs and slung the purse over my shoulder.  
>"Hey, Commando, what's the little guy's name?" I asked, holding up the rabbit.<p>

Commando turned, saw what I had in my hands, and she paled.  
>Her eyes widened in panic as I fingered the toy in my hands.<br>She looked like a deer caught in headlights, freaking out and unsure which way to run.

"And what about the purse, huh? Is it yours or _hers_?" I asked, pointing to the rabbit and laughing hysterically.

I felt something barrel into me and knock me off my feet, the blow hit hard and I felt the air leave my lungs.  
>Commando ripped the objects from my hands and stood, cradling them against her chest possessively.<br>Her eyes were panicky, like I just stomped on her lifeline or something.

After Commando recovered a little, she turned to me and snapped.

"Don't—don't touch these things! Don't you _ever_ touch them again! You understand?"

Nodding, I coughed and sputtered until my lungs inflated.  
>I sat up just in time to see Commando putting the items into a cardboard box,<br>she reached up and pulled a rusty old gun from under her pillow and put that in as well.

She packed everything carefully, like they were fragile, and she gently pushed the box back under her bed.  
>For a moment, she sat still, hunched into herself like she was afraid of something. Then she glared at me and got up, walking over to my prone figure with her eyes blazing and her hands clenched into fists.<p>

"Get out." She ordered.

"Get the _hell_ out of my room _now_!" She looked on the brink of losing it, even madder than she was on the day I told the team about her and her Ice-meta pal.

And _that's_ saying something.

"What's the big deal?" I snapped. "They're just stupid kid's things. Come on, Commando, that purse looks like it should belong to a four year old! And don't get me _started_ on the rabbit…" I rolled my eyes.

"First of all." She held up a finger. "I got that purse when I _was_ four, so keep your mouth shut." Her voice trembled with rage.

"Second, that rabbit was a Christmas gift from my first Christmas on my own, it _means _something. So does the purse. I can't get rid of them, I _won't_!"

I cringed, there I go, sticking my foot in my mouth again.

"So who gave you the purse, eh? Your ice cube boyfriend?" I asked.  
>Why the heck did I say <em>that<em>. Am I _trying_ to cause a repeat of the Joker incident?

"No…" Her eyes narrowed.

"My dad."

My throat closed up. _Crap_. Just _crap._

"But, yes, the rabbit's from Cameron." She continued, not waiting for a reply.  
>"Well, what're you waiting for? Go tell everyone that I got a stuffed rabbit from Icicle Junior and I'm a traitor and should go to prison and blah-blah-<em>frickin<em>-blah…!" She growled, turning away.

Speechless, I watched her locate a clean set of black clothes and a fresh cloak.  
>She disappeared into her closet and closed the doors behind her.<br>She came out a few minutes later suited up and fumbling with her mask. She slipped it over her eyes and gave me another death glare.

"What?" She demanded.

I shrugged, but didn't move.  
>She rolled her eyes and slipped her boots onto her socked feet.<br>The way her arms jerked as she tightened them made me realize she was about one step away from decking me.  
>Still, I refused to budge.<p>

"Where you going?" I asked.

"Why do you care?" She brushed past me coldly.

I caught her wrist. "Because. The last time you stormed off you ended up getting kidnapped by the Joker, and I doubt you'll survive a second encounter with that pycho."

For a moment, Commando's eyes softened. But just as quickly, they narrowed and her face twisted up into a sneer.

"Which was _also_ your fault, if I'm not mistaken." She tried to wrench herself free of my grip.

"Commando, that was _not _just my fault. Face it, you overreacted."

If Commando wasn't mad before, she was now. I swear I could see her evil little mind adding me to the list of people to disappear in the middle of the night.

"I'll admit, I was being a jerk. But I _apologized_, didn't I?"

"Only because Bats _made _you…" She muttered bitterly.

"No, he didn't." I retorted.

Commando blinked, surprised. "He…he didn't?"

"No." I repeated, making sure to keep all sarcasm out of my voice.

"I did that on my own."  
>I could practically see Commando's mind spinning, searching for a comeback.<p>

"But….." Is all she could say.

I smiled, happy that I managed to shut her up for once.  
>I released her arm.<br>"So, back to the original question, where _are_ you going?"

Commando pulled a brush out of her dresser and started combing out her dirty blonde hair, gently tugging out the knots as she went.  
>She stopped at a particulary tangled strand of hair and brushed it relentlessly until it obeyed.<br>I looked at my boots when I realized I'd been staring at her, and I waited for an answer.

I heard a sharp _click_ when she set the brush back on the dresser, which I took as a cue to look up.  
>She was peering at me with a quizzical look, her eyes narrowed in curiosity and her little nose scrunched up like it always did when she was thinking.<br>Her lips were set in a gentle pout. It was cute.

I gave myself a mental slap; I _seriously_ needed to think of a way to make my brain stop thinking like that.

Her face cleared, like she'd made a decision.

"Look…" She took a deep breath. "Bats can't help me prove my innocence without any proof that I didn't do it—and I _really _didn't." She said, eyeing me warily like she expected me to argue.  
>But I simply nodded and gestured for her to continue.<p>

"I'll be headed to Blackgate within a week, guarantee it. Or with my luck, I'll get _Iron Heights._"  
>She said the name of the famous prison like a small child would say<br>_'the Boogie man'_ or _'the Joker.'_

I frowned; Blackgate was bigger and had more prisoners.  
>Logically, that would make it more of a threat.<br>Why would she be scared of Iron Heights? It made zero sense.

"So…do you have a lot of enemies at Heights?"

She shook her head.  
>"Some, but most of the baddies that want my head on a platter are either in Blackgate, Arkham, or you know… running around doing evil somewhere."<br>She made a fist and wiggled two of her fingers to make it look like they were running.

"Then why are you more afraid of Heights?" I asked, confused.  
>She didn't even deny that she was scared, which was unlike her.<br>Normally she would pull the old 'Dude, I'm Commando and I'm awesome and you're not' routine.  
>she just gave me a <em>'well, duh'<em> look and rubbed her hands together.

"Well, for starters, the Warden's frickin' psychotic…" She frowned, bitterness creeping into her voice.

"Mr. Wolfe?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's him…" Her eyes seemed distant, like she was somewhere else at the moment.

"I don't see the problem, Wolfe's a nice guy." I shrugged.

Commando's eyes locked onto mine, I'd clearly said something wrong.

"_Nice?_ You think what that freak _does _to people is _nice_?" She looked disgusted and horrified at the same time, like I'd just sacrificed a baby.

"Well, yeah, last time I talked to him at the police headquarters in Keystone…" I began

"Headquarters…" She calmed down instantly. "So…you've never actually been _inside_ the prison?"

"Not all of it." I admitted. "Why? What's wrong?"

She hesitated. "_Nothing_." She sighed, like she regretted saying it. "I just…don't like that place, okay?"

"Okay." I agreed. "Iron Height: Bad. Proof: Good. How are you planning on getting some?"

"At the root of the problem." She said simply. "Mia."

"But you don't know where she is."

Commando froze, like that hadn't occurred to her. "That could become a problem…" She mused, mostly to herself.

"I suppose I could call Cam, he always has the dirt on people. Maybe Jade? Nah, she tried to kill me last time we talked. Suppose I could try Mi's old hideouts…."

"Hideouts?" I said. "Plural?"

She smiled. "Yeah, the girl was a bit of a drifter until I took her in. Never settled down anywhere for too long, but s_omeone_ has to know where she is."  
>She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me.<p>

"So…you're pretty much just guessing." I raised an eyebrow.

She winced. "That about sums it up."

I sighed; I knew I was going to regret it, but….

"I'm coming with you."

"_What_?" Commando gaped at me like I'd just said: _I'm going to go eat my socks.  
><em>  
>"If I go too Bats will be less suspicious." I rationalized.<p>

"Do you really think he'd like you running around looking for your old teammate, given the circumstances?"

Commando thought about that.

"I guess so…."

"We're gonna need transportation…" I said, trying to distract myself away from the fact that I had just agreed to go on a mission with the anti-me.

Commando grinned. "Oh, I got _that_ part covered."

I raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

Commando whistled, and Sphere appeared in the doorway. She was trying to roll into the room, but her round shape prevented her from entering.

"Hey, girl…" She cooed, walking up to the mechanical ball.

"Mind giving us a little Super-Cycle action? Hmm?"

Sphere beeped a few times and Commando nodded like she understood.

"Thanks, girl. When Wally wanted a ride you bucked him off your handlebars, didn't you? Uh-huh, it was hilarious. I laughed for half and hour…"  
>She petted Sphere on what I assumed was her head.<p>

"Okay, what're we gonna tell Bats when he finds out." I asked.

"You mean _if_ he finds out." She grinned evilly. "Yeah, if…if is good." She muttered to herself.

"Maybe you should see someone about that whole 'talking to yourself thing'" I said, following Commando into the hallway.

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><p>Hey, guys, I know I'm like the least serious person on Earth, but some things about the YJ fandom have been bothering me lately.<p>

**1) Hatred against other pairings.** Okay, so you don't like slash-neither do I! And yes, I might say some pairings are a bit weird, and I think some of them are. What I do NOT do is go 'that's dumb, they're not gay, you're pairing is stupid!' Just...Just no. Here's something you may not know: THEY ARE FULLY AWARE THAT THEY ARE NOT GAY, ALRIGHT? You CAN enjoy you pairing without tearing down others and being a jerk.

**2) Complaints about SuperMartian and Spitfire going too fast.** I agree with some of that, but to be fair they have been leading up to SuperMartian since the first episode, and we've all seen Spitfire coming since Infiltrator. But no one said anything when Zatanna showed up and she and Robin started flirting almost instantly, no...no one said ANYTHING!

**3) Whining about Miss Martian**. Okay, yeah, sometimes she comes across a bit Mary-Sue-ish, I'll admit I thought she was a Mary-Sue and first too.  
>But, what people like to do is say, 'she's a Mary-Sue' and then they go and point out her faults...<br>Um...hate to break it to you, but that's not how Mary-Sue's work, that kinda the exact opposite of how they work. Seriously.

**4) Calling Artemis useless.** This one really pisses me off. Just because she was the first one eliminated during Failsafe, some people are saying she's weak. Um...she did that so the others could get away. It was proving that she was loyal! Oh, and I still strongly believe she, in fact, is not the mole. Although, they may make it seem like she is the mole and they chase her off, but then she needs to come back and save their butts and Wally's there and they go into a private room and make out passionately...I'm getting off track.

So, whattya think of my little rant? Do you hate my guts, love my guts, are indifferent towards my guts? I'm quite a fan of my intestines, to tell the truth. 

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><p>Okay, random fun time after alll that seriousness: Was I the only one screaming LEAVE KALDUR ALONE! during the episode where everyone was ganging up on Kaldur when the first learned about the mole.<p>

More Random: Wally's a ginger:D

Another Random: I loooove his name: Wally, Wally, Wally, Wally, Wallllllllllllllyyyyyyyyy:D 


	23. I absolutely hate the Plaza

Okay, people, I can't believe I got this chapter done so soon but here you go!

**Oh, and A Girl's Instincts told me who 'Jade' was in the last chapter: **  
><strong>Cheshire. Or as I like to call her, the crazy assasin who kinda scares me. You're awesome!:D<strong>

P.S: Just for the record I want to say that I love Walt Disney, the bashing I did on him was strictly because it was funny and fit in well with the story, thank you very much.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

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><p>I grinned and pulled on the S-Cycle's handlebars, pulling her out of a double barrel roll. Robin was scrunched up in Wolf's seat, his head hanging over the side while he emptied his lunch into the ocean for the third—or was it the fourth?—time.<p>

He wiped his mouth off his sleeve and glared at me. "Is there a point to this?"  
>I chose not to answer him, we where far enough away from the beach so no one would see us, but close enough so that I could see the shore. I doubted there would be anyone there at this time of year, but you never know.<p>

"Well?" He demanded.

"One of Mia's hideouts." I pointed to a rundown boathouse at the edge of the sand.

"She liked being near the water, I guess, but she's not here…" I had to shout above the wind whistling in my ears.

If she was, we'd be able to see faint candlelight coming through the windows. The locals chalked it up to an old ghost story about the boathouse, but I knew that it had really been Mia—quickly lighting her little white candles and setting them carefully in the windows. If anyone saw her or the light and went to investigate, she'd simply disappear. The kid was good at it, too. One minute she was there, and the next she just…_wasn't._ Like Robin, only less ninja-y.

Robin muttered a curse under his breath and went back to staring at the water. I didn't blame him, I'd dragged him all over Happy Harbor, Star City, and Central so far, next we'd hit Gotham and Metropolis. If she wasn't in any of those places, we'll…

I gritted my teeth.

then we'd have to check Keystone. I hate being so close to _that_prison, but I didn't have a choice. To tell the truth, this was a shot in the dark. I'd managed to get a hold of Cam via a safe untapped phone line used for just that purpose. It was kind of sweet he went through all that trouble just so we'd have a safe way to communicate. His Intel had been kind of dodgy, and that's putting it nicely.

He'd promised to look for me, and I'd advised to look for her under the name_ Mouse_ instead of _Mia_. I was always very careful to hide my teammate's identities, even little Max wore a mask on certain occasions. The hospital run was a unique thing. After all, if we'd walked in there wearing masks they probably would've called the cops and hid in the operating rooms. Mia? Who's that? Not even I really knew. Mouse was known as the extremely quiet member of Commando's Highwaykids.

That title won't win you many friends, especially in Central, but come on—so some villains lose pieces of equipment here and there, doesn't mean it was me...okay, sometimes it was me…..Fine! it was usually me, but that doesn't mean they should blame me for it.

"She's not here, Robbie." I called.

"We should head off to Gotham next, and pray that Daddy-Bats is in the belly of a whale with Aquaman or something today."

Before Robin could file another complaint about the nickname, my pocket started to buzz. Relieved, I pulled out my communicator and held it against my ear.

"What do you got for me, Cam?"

"Someone caught a glimpse of Mouse near one of your old hideouts in Central." I could practically hear the smirk through the connection, that boy _loves_snooping out the dirt on people. He lives for it.

_Central? Oh, Rob's gonna kill me. _I winced and shifted the comm. to my other ear.

"You sure, we—I mean, _I_just searched all over the city."

I hoped he didn't notice my slip-up. I liked Cam, but I didn't know how cool he'd be with the fact I was hanging out with the Boy Wonder. Frankly, Cam didn't like me hanging out with any boy. _Ever._ He was like….an annoying older brother. A _really_ annoying older brother.

"You know Mia; she has a habit of bouncing around. I'd hurry and get over there before she leaves again." He said.

The boy had a point.

"Kay." I agreed. "Which one?"

"I find it funny you need to ask. The old hotel building, remember?"

"The Scarlett Plaza?" I asked.

"Uh-huh."

I remembered all right; the Plaza had been a cool place to live. Plenty of beds and room to move, I'd even managed to get the old hot tub working.

"I thought the Plaza was going to be turned into an apartment building." I told him.  
>It was probably the place I found hardest to leave. I'd actually teared up a bit at the loss of my precious Jacuzzi<p>

"They scrapped the project, financial issues or something. Be careful, the work they did on it coupled with the fact that the place was_ always_ structurally unsound, even when _you _lived there…well, just try not to fall through any floors, okay?"

"I'll do my best." I smiled. "See ya later, Cam."

"There's one other thing…" His voice trailed off.

"What?" I frowned, Cam sounded nervous.

"Well, some people think Two-Face's gang is using the Plaza as a meeting spot. I can't confirm it, but…."

"No prob, Cam." I told him.

"I'm Commando, remember? I can handle anything."

"Yeah, sure."

"I'll be careful! I promise." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, talk to you later. You know, _probably_."

"You're really morbid, you know that?" I scolded.

"I pride myself on it."

I laughed a little and tapped the device, quickly ending the conversation.

"Why do you need to be careful?" Robin asked, twisting in his seat. "And what's the Scarlett Plaza?"

"First you're a perv, now you're an eavesdropper." I smirked.

"You sure aren't moving up in the world, are you Rob?"

He scowled at me, but said nothing.

"Cam said someone saw Mi at the Scarlett Plaza in Central. The Plaza is an old hotel building my team and I used as a HQ a few years back." I answered him, making sure my gun was loaded with shockers.

"Some people are saying Two-Face is using it as a hole for his rats, but it's probably just a rumor." I said confidently.

"Are you sure you want to take that risk?"

I smiled at him like he just said something stupid.  
>"Robbie, stories like that circulate through the criminal underground all the time. Joker's here, Poison Ivy's there, it's almost <em>never<em> true. Example: One time someone tried to tell me that Captain Cold was using an old hideout of mine, _while_ I was still using it. I swear, sometimes it felt like High School." I shook my head.

"But with, you know, crime and murder and stuff."

"Yeah, _just_like High School." Robin sniffed.

I rolled my eyes, and pointed the Cycle in the right direction.  
>"Okay, girl, we need to get there fast." I told her. "Do you have a second gear or something?Because I—<em>whoa!<em>"

The Cycle suddenly accelerated, almost throwing me from my seat. She was going so fast if a cop clocked us his radar would probably break. The wind whistled through my hair and pressed against my face, making it difficult to breath. I felt like I was going to fall off and splatter against the pavement if I loosened my grip on the handlebars.

In other words, I thought it was awesome.

Robin, on the other hand, started looking a little green.  
>I laughed and threw my head back, enjoying the ride. I was so confident that I would find Mia and get the proof I needed that I didn't even worry about the Two-Face rumor. Why would <em>he<em>be in Central? I'm pretty sure the dude's locked up in Blackgate right now anyway.

I struggled to stand up, the G-forces kept trying to plaster me against my seat. I shielded my eyes against the wind and looked around until I spotted the Plaza's unmistakable red roof and giant sign depicting the hotel's name and its mascot, Miss Scarlett the Pig. Which I'm pretty sure is just a rip-off of Miss Piggy.

"There!" I told the Cycle. "Land behind it, okay girl?" I said.

"You do know it's weird to be talking to a _machine_, right?" Robin shouted, holding his stomach.

"She is _not_ a machine, which you would know if you ever…" The Cycle beeped a few times in  
>annoyance.<p>

"Sorry, girl." I petted the handles. "Robbie is just being a spaz, is all."

"I am not a _spaz!_" Robin shouted indignantly. "And my name is_ not_ Robbie!" The Cycle landed where  
>I asked, and transformed back into Sphere, dumping us off her.<p>

"Say it with me, Ro-_bin._ Ro—now here's the tricky part—_bin_. Do you get what I'm saying?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. You want me to call you Ro-_bin_, Robbie."

He groaned and looked up into the sky. "Will it ever _end_?"

"Probably not." I looked up into the sky too. "It's getting dark, Bats is probably popping a vain right about now." I winced.

"What happened to '_if_he finds out.'?" Robin asked, smirking at me.

I frowned at him in annoyance. "I learned quickly that when you make Bats mad, it's best to calmly back away from him before he goes, excuse the pun, bat-shit crazy on you." I said.

"I also learned that when you make Canary mad, it's best to calmly turn around and run the other way as fast as you _frickin'_ can!" I shook him as I said the last few words.

He pushed me away. "You're more scared of Canary?"

"She doesn't seem vicious at first, but she is. Like that fish with the little light on the end of it's antennae from Finding Nemo." I said.

"Finding Nemo?" He raised an eyebrow.

"So I like Disney, shut up about it!" I frowned at him.

"You do know Walt Disney was an outspoken anti-semit, right?"

I pouted and looked at my shoes, then my head snapped back up and I shot daggers at the Boy Wonder with my eyes.

"Thank you, Robin, for taking away the last innocent part of my childhood! Now I'm _completely_ messed up! I hope you happy." I crossed my arms and turned away from him.

Sphere beeped to remind to get us back on track.

"Okay, girl." I scratched her again. "Stay here, okay? We'll be right back."  
>Sphere made a buzzing sound, and her lights dimmed as she deactivated. I think that was the equivalent of her taking a nap in Sphere-world.<p>

"Let's go, Wonder Boy." I ran my hands against the back wall until I located the false front that led to the back door.

"Another nickname, _really_?" He growled.

"I nickname _everyone_." I shrugged, digging my fingers into a piece of drywall painted to look like brick. I tried to pry it off, but it was so old it broke off in my hands.

"Although I cannot find a decent nickname for Kaldur and Conner, they just….they don't give me a lot of material to work with, you know?."

Giving up trying to pull it off at once, I resorted to punching the false front. I managed to make a few good-sized holes, but I couldn't make a gap big enough for me to get through. Stupid Lily, making me patch up the back door just in case someone got suspicious of a door that shouldn't have been unlocked. And _no_, we couldn't just _lock_ that one like we did to all the others because one of the little kids accidently got a little speck of paint on it that no one would ever notice.

"Kaldur _is_a nickname, stupid."

"So is _Rob_, but I prefer using the one _I_made up." Too bad it had rained earlier today, the drywall was sort of wet and wouldn't crumble under my hands.

"_You've _used the name Rob for me."

"And I've _also _used the name Kaldur for Aqualad." I retorted. Stupid drywall, stupid Robin….

"Wally calls Conner Supey."

"That's what they call _Superman_, bird brain. It's already been used. And again, it's not mine. Supes works, I guess. It's different, but if Superman were in the room when I called Conner that, he'd assume I was talking to _him_, and it'd get confusing. I can't just do the old thing where I shorten the real name either, because then it'd just be Con. And I already know a Con. Nice girl, very dry sense of humor though. Hope she got over that hospital thing. Maybe Kal for Kaldur, yeah…that'll work." I mused, looking at my white-dusted hands.

"Supes? Sounds too much like _Soup_ to me, and _Kal_ is kinda like _Cow_ if you say it fast enough. Soup and Cow. Cow and Soup. Cow Soup. That sounds gross. Beef soup, now _that's_good…"

And that is when I lost my cool.

I grabbed Robin by his waist and heaved him at the wall. He smashed into it and kept going, into the Plaza. He landed heavily on the hard marble flooring and I could hear him groaning in pain. Good.

"Listen, Robert." I rubbed my temples.

"There is only _so far_ you can push me before I just freaking _tweak_."

I clambered in through the Robin-sized hole in the plaster and squinted through the darkness, searching for the Dark Knight-in-training.

"Robin?" I called, I could barely see five feet past anything. I couldn't have thrown him that hard, could I have? Course I _was _mad….

I had my question answered almost immediately, unfortunately.

The lights flickered on, I saw an unconscious Robin lying a good ten feet away from where I stood. A circle of men armed with pistols, baseball bats, and other crude, cheap weapons stood in between us. When I turned I saw them close up the ring behind me, so there was no way out. A man broke the line, a man who looked like two guys stitched together. One half was normal, but the other was just messed up. Like he'd drank half of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde potion and got stuck between the two as a result. You might know him as Two-Face, I know him as the jackass who's tried to kill me before and probably will again. Right now.

I swallowed. "T-Two-Face old buddy, how's the um…..face—_es_?" I asked. Not my best line, I'll admit. And probably not the smartest thing to say, but come on, what would _you _have done?

He chuckled, which I hoped was a good sign. "Commando, always ready with a witty remark up your sleeve, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "I try. But I honestly don't think that was very good, give me a few weeks, I'll come up with something better, I promise!" I inched my hand towards my holsters, I prayed he didn't notice. Casual, Mandy, be casual. Just adjusting my belt, yep. The buckle's digging into my stomach and I'm just fixing it, yep.

"Again with your famous ability to laugh in the face of danger. It never gets old…" His normal side smirked, which was kind of freaky because the other half kept scowling at me.

"Fortunately for you, you caught me on a good day. The boy…well he _has_to die. He's the Bat's sidekick, you understand, right? I'll be doing all of Gotham a favor by taking him out. But you, my dear, you've played with both teams. You're an opportunist, I like that. Reminds me so much of myself."

"Buddy." I spat. "I am _nothing _like you."

"No?" His other half grinned along with his normal half.

"Then tell me, child. Just what exactly _are_you? Hero or Thief?"

I opened my mouth, but the words died in my throat. In the movies, this would be the part where the brave young heroin shouts _'HERO!'_ and charges the impossibly large men and beats the snot out of all of them and somehow manages to rescue her…._partner_? I guess you could call him that. Although I'd use a slightly different word, like _headache_.

But this wasn't a movie; James Bond will not pop out of the darkness with Indiana Jones and save me.

I was on my own.

I didn't know what to tell him.  
>I never thought of myself as a truly evil or bad person, but I'm no <em>angel<em>, either.  
>I know that. He knows that, most of the United States knows that.<p>

I set my jaw and glared at Two-Face's two faces. "I'm Commando."

Two-Face laughed as if I'd just told a good joke, and he pulled a coin from his coat pocket.

"See this, girl? It's a coin. Heads and tails, yin and yang, good and bad. Heads says we listen to the  
>kind part of my duel personality and let you live. Tails and we slaughter you where you stand."<p>

I gulped. "Fun."

He flipped it, and the world seemed to go in slow-motion. The coin left his finger and soared into the air, flipping over and over as it went. Heads, tails, heads, tails, live, die, live, die, live...

The coin landed on the ground with a distinct little _ping_. It was right in front of me, almost like Two-Face had made it land there on purpose. I leaned over and looked at the side that faced up. Tails.

"Pity." Two-Face grabbed his coin. "Prepare to die, child."

"NO!" I shouted and whipped my guns from their holsters. I fired a haymaker shot at Two-Face and dodged to the right, breaking their circle of muscle and firepower. It didn't hit him, I knew it wouldn't, but it distracted him for a second.

Too bad I needed about a hundred more seconds to have time to think.

The men opened fire, a stupid mistake considering their weapons and shuffling feet kicked up enough dust to hide me. The down side? It hid them too. I could barely tell where they were, although the swearing and gunshots helped.

I army-crawled along the floor, trying to locate Robin.  
><em><br>Come on, bird boy. Groan, call me stupid, yell at me. Just do something that'll help me find you…_

I felt the dust particles fly into my nose, tickling it from the inside.  
><em><br>No…_I rubbed my nose. No, no, _no…_not hear, not now. I couldn't help it…

I sneezed.

Immediately I felt a hand close around my neck and pluck me from the ground. The dust settled, and revealed that I had crawled right past Two-Face. Just a few more inches and I would've reached Robin.

Life sucks, doesn't it?

He slammed my body against the wall and held me there. I could barely breath, I kept clawing at his hand and trying to bit him, bit nothing worked. I couldn't even reach my guns.

"Pathetic." He spat, throwing my body across the room. I slammed into a marble statue of Ares, the Greek god of War. I rubbed my head, feeling the large bump forming on the scalp. It wasn't bleeding, but it hurt like hell.

Whoa…I blinked. Déjà vu.

Two-Face stalked up to me, I reached for my guns and saw that they'd flown out of their holsters when on impact. _Great. _He stomped on my stomach, hard. I doubled over, holding my side and fighting down tears.

"You're weak, Commando. Look at you; you don't even know _who you are_!" He shouted.

"Thief, hero, good, evil, you are not balanced!" He sneered.

"Right, because you're so stable yourself?" I asked.

Why can't I ever just shut up?

Two-Face kicked me in the head, making me see stars.

"At least I am able to finish what I started." He knelt beside me, touching my bleeding cheek as if he cared what happened to me.

"You can't save Robin, Commando. You can't save yourself. It's over. We both know what tails means…"

He pulled a pistol out of his jacket and held it to my temple.

"You lose…"

As if on cue, I heard a distant wailing. Like a cat getting its tail caught in a door. As it grew closer, I realized it was more like a yell. A very angry, very familiar yell. I smirked, and Two-Face looked away from me for a second.

"What the…?"

He never got to finish the sentence. A small, lithe shape fell from the ceiling—both feet landing directly on Two-Face's head. It smashed against the ground as my rescuer's weight took it down, and the person used the momentum to turn the landing into a graceful flip. I knew that move, I use it sometimes but there's only one girl I know who can pull it off that good: Mia.

She gave me a tiny smile and looped her arm around my waist; I staggered but somehow managed to stay on my feet. She was tiny, but surprisingly strong.

The men recovered from there original shock and opened fire on us. Mia had grabbed my guns somewhere between stepping on Two-Face and helping me up, and she use them to mow down three of the lackeys before pulling me behind a overturned table for cover. I took one of the guns from her and tried to help, but my eyesight kept blurring and I missed almost every time. I think I caught one of them in the thigh, but that was just pure luck.

Mia noticed that I was pretty messed up, and she understood that we wouldn't win this fight.  
>I, on the other hand, was too focused on getting Robin to care about survival.<br>Mia opened a little side panel beside us, one of many that the Highwaykids used when we lived in the Plaza for quick entries and exits. She fired a few smokers in the direction of the men to provide a distraction.

Mia nudged me toward the opening, I protested but I was too tired and too injured to fight her panel led out to the front of the building, and Mia helped me limp to a motorcycle hidden by the rose bushes out front.

"Mi…" I mumbled, my voice sounded scratchy. "Robin…"

"Shhhh…." She whispered, pulling me onto the bike.

I sat behind her, fighting to stay conscious as she started it up and pulled away from the Plaza.  
>My thought were pulling me eight different ways, Need to talk to Mia, Have to rescue Robin, Need this, have to that….It made my head hurt.<p>

I must've lost the battle to stay awake, because when I opened my eyes again I was lying propped up with pillows on a comfortable bed and a thick quilt mummifying my lower body. Mia materialized beside me and held a straw to my lips. I drank the cold ice water gratefully, sucking it down to soothe my raw throat.

"Slowly, now..." Mia said softly. "I don't want you choking on this…"

I wasn't sure how much I liked this roll-reversal thing, but I did what she said anyway. I ended up taking the glass from her and throwing the straw on the floor so I could drink straight from the cup.  
>Mia handed me some pain medication and I downed that with another gulp of water.<p>

Feeling better, I swung my legs out of bed and stomped on the ground to test my legs, a little shaky, but nothing broken.

"Take it easy, Jill." Mia put her hand on my shoulder. "Two-Face got you pretty good. You need to rest."

I scowled. "What I _need_is too get bird boy back…"

"Stubborn as ever I see."

"You expected anything less?"

"No, it's actually a good thing. It means you're not badly hurt. It also means you're well enough to be difficult, unfortunately." She rolled her eyes.

I rubbed my eyes, wishing the pain meds would kick in quicker.

"Can you stand?" Mia asked.

Probably not. "Of course I can…" I smirked, setting the glass down on a nearby end table and forcing my legs to pick me up and walk a few steps. My knees trembled dangerously beneath me, but they held.

"See?" I grinned through the pain. "Perfectly fine."

She blinked. "Sure."

I sighed and kept stomping my legs, trying to work out the pain I felt on my legs and upper torso.

"So Robin?" Mia asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Your choice of boyfriends always interested me, Jill, but I gotta say this one is…"

"He is _not_my boyfriend." I scowled. "He's a pain."

She shrugged as if to say _'whatever.'  
><em>I smiled, eager to change the subject. "You know, this is the longest conversation we've ever had.

"We never had much to talk about before." She shrugged again. "I'm guessing this has something to do with your recent arrest?"

I blinked. "How did you…?"

"I've been getting around, Jill…" She smiled. "You hear a lot of things when you're alone. Trust me; I'm the only one who knows. Well, me and the police, but you already know that."

"I was looking for you…" I admitted. "And you…?"

"Looking for you." She said. "As soon as I heard…" She shook her head.

"Jill, I…I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just…"

I put my hand on her shoulder, steadying her. "Mia, I don't need to know right now. I don't _care_ right now. Right now you and I need to rescue Robin before Two-Face…" My voice trailed off.  
>"Before it's too late, alright?"<p>

She nodded, smiling broadly. "Just like old times."

"Right." I turned, searching for my guns.

"You know, he_ is _cute…"

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

><p>Hello, people, did you expect this to happen? Am I able to surprise you at all? Huh?<p>

I love Random...I love Random...:Robin Kinda looks like Harry Potter, when he was younger. Not before he got older and awkward and freaky-looking. Give him a pair of glasses and make that little zig-zag on his forehead and you're in business.

:D :D :D :D :D :D

PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSE REVIEW!


	24. Dangerous Games

**This is Commando's POV. Becasue Robin...really doesn't do much in this chapter. Not really, no...**

**:D :D :D :D :D :D :D**

* * *

><p>Aw, man. Oh, no…" I clutched my hair.<p>

"I can't believe I _lost _Robin. Bats is gonna _kill _me. And I can tell you this; it will not be done with mercy. Awwww, _man._…."  
>I repeated, scanning the now empty halls of the Plaza.<p>

It hadn't taken Mia and me long to get from her hideout back to the Plaza, but apparently it was long enough for Two-Face's goons to pick what was left of their pride and birdnap the Boy Wonder.

"Calm down…" Mia said, trying to comfort me in her own quiet non-comforting way.

"Calm down?" I whipped around. "Bats is going to _kill_ me, revive me, then _kill _me again! He will bury me alive and dance on my grave! I'm so _not_ exaggerating!" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

She blinked. "Commando."

"Yeah?"

"You're weird."

I scowled. "Thanks Mi, I needed that."

I let her go and ran my hand through my hair, trying to calm down enough to think.

Okay, Two-Face has Robin. Facey will probably toy with Robin before he kills him, or torture him until he dies. I swallowed.

Either way, Mia and I had a limited window in which we could use to rescue the birdie and get the heck out of there. I figured I could do that, sneaking in and out of places was what I was best at. If we were spotted, Mi and I could just open fire on them and run away. Then I could get Mia to explain what the heck was going on with her and the terrorist thing, get the proof I need, give it to Bats and then go eat candy bars with Wally until one of us pukes. There was only one problem with my genius plan…

I had no freaking idea where he was.

"Okay, Mi..." I turned to the smaller girl. "This is going to sound really Scooby-Doo-ish, but we need to split up and search for clues."  
>Mia nodded, and then zipped off. I sighed and scanned the floor in front of me, surely Two-Face left behind some sort of hint. I kicked at pieces of broken marble, feeling dejected.<p>

If only it was the _Riddler_ who had taken Robin, he'd leave behind a rhyme or a puzzle that I'd solve in five minutes and then go beat the salt out of him. Or maybe Kite Man, he was one of the lamest villains I knew. Well, him and Calendar Man. I mean, seriously, what's _up _with that guy? I guess I could call Cam again, but by the time he found something….I winced.

Well, We just didn't have that kind of time.

"Mandy!" Mia called. I almost cried with relief. _Please, Mi, please tell me you found something important. _I silently begged and raced towards the sound of her voice. I don't know what I thought I was going to see, Mia holding a magnifying glass up to a cartoon-style footprint and exclaiming 'Jinkies!' or what, but when I ducked into the room her voice came from I wanted to laugh until I threw up.

It was a man, one of Two-Face's goons, hogtied and gagged with a handkerchief.

Mia sat on top of the man's back, legs crossed and a 'it took you long enough' look on her face.

"Mia…." I shook my head, gesturing towards the man. "What the….? How the…?"

"He resisted." She shrugged, clambering off the goon.  
>The man squirmed and screamed obscenities into his gag. I don't know what he was saying, but I doubt it was an offer of friendship.<br>_Okay, Mandy…_ I bit my lip. _You got a hostage, what are you gonna do with him?_

The man glared at me so hard I thought he was going to bore holes in my skull.  
>Making a decision, I pulled the gag away from his face and balled it up in my hands.<p>

"Okay, now I going to ask you a few questions and— "

The goon interrupted my sentence with a string of cuss words that would've gotten me on Wolf-walking duty for a month if I'd said them around Canary.  
>I let him blow off steam for another thirty seconds before calmly asking "You done?"<p>

"No, I'm _not_ done!" he yelled. "Two-Face will kill you when he finds out about this, he'll _kill_ you!"

"Doubt it." I responded.

"But what I _don't _doubt is how much trouble I'll be in when the Bat finds out I lost his sidekick. Now, are you going to cooperate? Or will I have to take more… _drastic _measures."

He responded by spitting on my boot.

"Nice…" I said, wiping it off on the man's pant leg.

"Drastic measures it is then…"

"STOP! I'll tell you everything, just _stop_!"

I grinned; rubber bullets littered the ground around us. They weren't fatal, and didn't cause much injury to the skin, but they hurt like hell. _  
><em>He quickly spat out the location, and I knelt beside him, handkerchief in hand.

"Thank you." I smiled warmly. "But if I find out you're lying, I'll find out where you live and I'll smother you in your sleep. If you wake up and try to run, I'll gladly hunt you down and gut you like a fish, _capisce_?"

"Ca…ca…_alright._" He squeaked, I shoved the rag back in his mouth and stood, brushing my hands off on my pants.

"Well, that was fun." I smiled at Mia. "Let's get to the Gotham Harbor."

Mia nodded. "For your _boyfriend_."

"Would you please stop saying that?"

She did, in fact she said absolutely nothing the whole ride to the Harbor. She didn't even react when I showed her Sphere.  
>Even when she transformed into the Super-Cycle, all Mia did was blink a couple of times and climb into Wolf's seat. It was kind of freaky.<br>Even the euphoria of flying the Cycle in accelerated mode couldn't pull my thoughts away from Mia. Hell….I didn't even know what her _full name_ was until today. I squinted at the sky, or…_yesterday_. I don't have a watch, sorry.

I believed her when she said she didn't want to hurt me, Mia…well, unless she got mad, like really, _really_ mad, she wouldn't hurt a fly. If she _was_ that type of mad the world's flies had better build bomb shelters and send their children to the countryside for protection. What I'm trying to say, in my strange humorous way, is it's not a fun time—for touched down a few blocks away from the warehouse where they were supposedly keeping Robin and huddled behind an apartment complex to regroup.

"I hope we're not in the 'bad side 'of town…" I mumbled. "At this time of night...Well, I don't feel like fending of gangbangers right now. Besides, around three o' clock is when all the weirdos come out."  
>Mia waved her gun—my gun, whatever—in front of my nose.<p>

"Yeah, Mi, I know. Guns win almost every time, I know…" I glanced over at the warehouse. It was big and fairly new, I think it belonged to a toy company or something. I smirked; I tried to picture Two-Face and his goons having a tea party with stuffed animals and imaginary muffins.  
><em><br>No…_ I smacked myself. Focus, focus, _focus_...

Mia said nothing, but she gave me a weird look. I sighed, she was right. I am weird.

"Come on…" I told Mia. "We gotta hurry."

I turned to Sphere. "You know the drill, wait here." I looked back to the warehouse.

"Let's hope this isn't a trap…"

"And if it is?" Mia whispered.

"Oh, it's fairly simple." I cleaned out my barrel with the edge of my cloak. "We die."

We stalked over to the warehouse. Okay, so we _tried _to stalk. Unfortunately there was a highway with a lot of cars between points A and B, so we had to wait until all the cars were gone and then we had to stay in the shadows because of the whole 'Ahh, Commando, she's gonna kill us all! Hide the children!' thing. We easily found a side door; it had a security camera mounted on the wall, of course. But that was quickly taken care of with one clean shot to the lense. There was a keypad near the handle, an extra precaution. I pried open the back and fiddled with a few wires and _voila,_ problem solved.

Mia reached for the handle, but I stopped her with a sweep of my hand.

"What?" She asked.

"Hear that?" I tilted my head, listening.

"No."

"Exactly. It's too quiet…" I glared at the remains of the incredibly lame security system.

"This is too easy, there should be a guard. Or at least a decent security camera."

I gestured for Mia to come to me, and I pulled her flat against the wall on the left side of the door.  
>I unbuttoned my cloak and slipped the dragon clasp into my pocket. "Okay, here's the plan." I whispered, searching the alley floor for something I could use. My eyes latched onto something: A potato sack. Perfect.<p>

I grabbed the sack and started shoveling trash into it. "I'm gonna throw this in, and hopefully they'll jump out of the shadows and attack it. If they do, it'll be child's play to walk in and take them down, sound good?"

"That's a pretty big 'if.'"

"Do you have a better idea?" I retorted.

Silence.

"That's what I thought." I tied the sack with a piece of string and pulled my dragon from my pocket.

"Sorry, Dragon, gonna have to take one for the team…" I mumbled, using it to fasten my cloak to the makeshift dummy.  
>I opened the door, making sure me and Mia were safely on the side where no one could see us, and I threw the potato sack into the warehouse.<br>Now if I were wrong, I probably would've collapsed and died of embarrassment. But I heard the sound of boots scraping against concrete and bodies slamming into the ground, pouncing on something.

Mia and I wasted no time. We stormed the building, guns blazing and faces set in grim determination. The men circling the potato sack collapsed in a heap, and I tensed in preparation for the second round.

Nothing happened.

"What the heck…?" I frowned, kicking one of the men over and retrieving my cloak.  
>As soon as it was once again fastened around my throat, I took the time to look around.<p>

"Why does it feel like we've just been punked?" I asked Mia.

She shrugged, looking at the unconscious goons at our feet. "Drastic measures?" She suggested.

I grinned. "Yeah, I suppose we could try that…"

I knelt by one of the men, a scrawny guy with bad acne. I secured his arms and legs with zip ties. Then I gently slapped his face, trying to bring him around.

"This isn't working…" I frowned. "Mia?"

Mia handed me a water bottle and I dumped it all over the man's face. He woke up with a start and almost conked our heads together.

"Brat!" He spat. "Good-for-nothing little street rat!"

I blinked. "At least this dude has better language."

I grabbed the man by the front of his shirt. "Listen up, buddy. I don't have time to do this pretty. Robin. Two-Face. Where are they?"

The man snickered.

"Exactly what part of this do you find funny?"

"Your little boyfriend is probably taking a dip in the Gotham Bay right now, Two-Face sent us here to slow you down."

"A dip in the…?" I frowned. Then it hit me.

"My God…." I gasped.

"Mia." I stood up and turned to my friend. "I was right. This is a diversion; we have to get to the Bay area _now _before…." I shook my head. "_Hurry!_"  
>Mia didn't need to be told twice, she followed me out of the warehouse and down to the pier.<br>_Please let me not be too late…_ I silently prayed. _Please, please, __**please**_**.**

My feet thundered against the pavement, I think Mia was having a hard time keeping up but I couldn't stop to check.  
>I finally made it to the water, the Gotham Bay was the same color as black ink and as filthy as a garbage dump. I could see bits of floating….<em>things,<em> bobbing in the water.

I gasped for air and tried to rub the pain out of my side while I scanned the waters.  
><em><br>Where is he? Oh my God, where is he?_

Mia appeared beside me, huffing and puffing as bad as I was.

"I see you made it…" Two-Face stepped out of the shadows. "I would've preferred you to die in the warehouse, less paperwork for me and easier to cover up, but this works just fine…" He pulled out his gun, I pulled out mine.

"Which is faster?" He asked. "Your gun or mine?"

"Wanna find out?" I asked coldly. There was a chance, a slim one, that I could his destroy his bullet with mine while it was still in the air. The gun I had in my hands was one of my fastest, but still…I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. With my free hand I moved Mia behind me; I wouldn't put it past him to shoot the girl while my attention was on him.

"You gonna count to three, or should I?" I asked.

Two-Face chuckled, not a good sign. "Kid, this is beneath me…" He raised his right hand, a signal.

Twenty well-muscled goons stepped out of the shadows, trapping Mia and I in the center. Two-Face backed away to enjoy the show.  
>I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, getting my bearings. I breathed out and my eyes snapped open.<p>

"Let's do this…"

Mia and I opened fire, surprising the goons who obviously expected a quick surrender. More goons poured out of the alleys to assist, the whole place went mad. My heart rate sped up, sweat beaded my forehead. In the confusion, I lost sight of Mia. Gun smoke filled the air as the goons remembered that they had guns, I was forced onto my stomach. Pain exploded in my right shoulder as I got nicked by a bullet. I gritted my teeth and switched my gun to the other hand. I thought about shouting out to Mia but with armed bozos surrounding me it'd be suicide. I manage to find an old fishing boat to use as cover, but it wasn't very thick and I knew it wouldn't stop a bullet. I guess I could ride it out until they ran out of bullets, but there was so many of them…I shook my  
>head.<p>

No, no…I needed a better plan.

I squeezed my eyes shut, Robin was running out of time. If I didn't do something now….

I let my eyes flutter open, if I didn't do something now Robin was dead. I had to take my chance; at least I _had_ a chance. Robin had no chance at all unless I got off my ass and showed those jerks why they call me Commando.

I launched myself back into the crowd. I slammed my elbow into one guy's gut and finished him with a blow to the back of the head.

I kicked one man in the chest and spun on my heel to kick another. One goon charged me and I let him get close. I grabbed his shoulders and swung my legs onto his chest and pushed off, using him as a springboard to barrel into another goon.

I used the momentum to turn the leap into a backflip and I came up crouching. I stood and wiped the sweat from my forehead. A small group of goon came towards me and I fired three bullets at them, all four slumped to the ground.

I was like a demon, no one could stop me, my adrenaline was making me fight harder than I'd ever fought before. And the ironic part was, it was all for Robin. For the boy I supposedly couldn't stand.

I spun around, searching for more enemies. I wanted someone to attack me; I wanted someone I could _hit._

A small, gentle hand touching my forearm brought me back to reality.

"Mia…" I turned to her. "Are you hurt? _Please _tell me you're okay…"

"I'm fine…" She pointed to my shoulder. "But you're not."

For the first time since the fight began I stopped to examine my injuries. I was covered with cuts and bruises; the wound on my shoulder was bleeding badly. My muscles ached and all I wanted to do was curl up on the ground and take a nice, long nap.

"Robin…" I breathed. "Two-Face…Mia, where are they?"

"Two-Face is gone." She said. "As for Robin? I don't know."

I turned back to the water, my eyes fell on something big gently swirling in the Bay. I told myself it wasn't him, but I easily picked out the features of everyone's favorite Bird Boy. Ebony hair, bright multi-colored costume, lithe but muscular build…what else could it be?

I raced to the edge of the Bay and looked down into its murky depths. Swimming it the Gotham Bay is a bad idea unless you want to have a third arm sprout out of your chest or mutant children when you grow up, but I jumped into the waters without hesitation. The water was freezing, but I managed to grit my teeth and start paddling madly to the Boy Wonder. He lay face down in the water, he didn't move. I grabbed him around the waist and pulled his head above water. His hair lay cemented against his forehead, water ran down his cheeks in small rivulets, his lips were tinged blue.

I reached the bank and handed Robin to Mia. The girl grabbed him under his armpits and hauled him onto the concrete. I pulled myself out, shivering and covered in sludge.

Mia gently laid Robin on his back, I knelt by his side.

I gave Robin a quick once-over, he was so cold but he didn't shiver—not a good sign. His chest wasn't moving; I put my finger against his nose.

"Oh my God…" I shook my head. "Oh my God, Mia! I don't think he's breathing."

Mia looked up at me, her face was blank. "Converse taught you CPR." She said.

"What's that got to do with—?" I began. Then Mia's words sunk in fully.

"Oh, no, no, no, _no_…" I shook my head franticly. "No way, why don't you…?" I gestured hopefully to Robin.

"I don't know how." She shrugged. "But you do."

"You gotta be kidding me!" I gaped. "I just _had_ to learn CPR! Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_" I smacked myself in the head with each _'stupid.'  
><em>With a sigh, I turned back to Robin. I tilted his head back and opened his mouth, clearing the airways. I leaned down and pressed my lips against his; creating a tight seal so the air that I forced into his lungs reached its intended destination. He was so cold under my touch, so lifeless…

After a few breaths, I came up for air and turned my attention to his chest, pressing done firmly against his chest wall. My heart was racing, but I managed to keep the compressions regular and not snap the bird's ribs while I attempted to save his life. I sang _Stayin' Alive_ aloud to help me keep the beat.

Twenty compressions. No reaction.

I took another deep breath and forced it down Robin's throat.

Another twenty compression.

Still nothing, Robin didn't even twitch.

Mia put a comforting hand on my shoulder; she knew as well as I did that if a person didn't react after that amount of CPR that it was already too late. I didn't want to accept that, I _couldn't _accept that.

"No! He still has a chance!" I pulled away from her and pounded on Robin's chest.  
><em><br>Come on, Birdie._ I thought as I belted out another verse of _Stayin'_ Alive.

_Don't you dare die on me._

Precious minutes went by; Mia sat beside me giving me a sympathetic look the whole time. She thought it was a lost cause, and she was probably right. Something inside me refused to give up, some stubborn little piece of my brain refusing to let go.

Then it happened.

All of a sudden Robin convulsed, his blank, lifeless expression twisted into the agonized expression of someone with lungs filled with dirty water. He coughed and choked painfully, water and bile dribbling out of his mouth and down his chin.

It was beautiful.

Relief spreading over me and calming down my heart rate, I turned the boy on his side so that the disgusting contents of Robin's lungs could flow out to be replaced with fresh, clean air.

I stood, gesturing for Mia to do the same.  
>We walked back to the water, allowing Robin some privacy.<p>

"Weren't you supposed to take his shirt off?" Mia asked.

I shot her an accusing look. "You said you didn't know how."

She shrugged innocently. "I don't."

"Uh-huh, sure…." I frowned.

"Besides, if I had done it I would've given up a long time ago."

"Yeah." I smirked. "Who was right….? Here's a hint: It was me!" I laughed.

"You seemed really concerned about this Robin character, even though you say you hate him. Why was that, Commando?" Mia said softly, instantly shutting me up.

"Um…yeah, uh….Can we ask Commando a different question?" I asked hopefully.

"Sure." She blinked. "Do you think the judge will believe you're story?"

I lowered my head. "No, I don't. I've made too many enemies and not enough friends. I just…I don't know what to do."

Mia nodded in understanding before removing something from her jacket—a small box with tape all around the edges. She handed it to me and offered a small smile.

I took it and turned it around in my hands.

"Um….a box. Thanks, I guess." I shrugged.

Mia sighed. "It's what's _in_ the box that's important, Commando."

I just stared at her.

"I told you I was looking for you, did you think I wouldn't have a plan to help you out?"

"So this is….?"

"Evidence. That I faked the whole thing, that you're innocent, that the police are imbeciles, Take your pick."

"Wait…_what_?" I asked, I felt so stupid. I still had no clue what was going on, I was still stuck on the interrogation thing.

"It's about time you knew…" She looked out across the Bay. Her eyes gleamed in the moonlight; her hair framed her small, innocent-looking face perfectly. She looked spooky, like a little ghost girl.

"My name is Mia Isabella Ellson."  
><em><br>I know that already. _I thought, but I managed to keep my mouth shut.

"My parents were David and Jennifer Ellson. They were…they were wonderful." Her voice was so full of pain, I felt bad for her. Even though I'd never had that kind of loving family dynamic.

"My life was very…routine. My parents loved me, but they kept me on a short leash. When I was about three they…they died. I'm still not sure what happened. I was afraid, so when the police came to our house I hid from them. They left after awhile, assuming that they had read the report wrong and the Ellsons had no daughter. I took care of myself after that, eating what I could get a hold of, wearing what I could find. You know, just scraping by…"

I nodded; I had spent eight years of my life 'just scraping by.'

"I was my one parents, but soon the police found out. They came to my home and took me away, they promised I'd be safe but….what I encountered next was the exact opposite."

I cringed, foster care. The fate of my beloved Highwaykids, my friends, my family…

"My foster parents were horrible. They would beat me and taunt me, even gave me drugs to make me believe it was all a nightmare so I wouldn't tell the social workers. No one cared, so I started to tricks to keep myself straight. Without them I'm afraid I would have gone insane. They were small things at first, card tricks, ball-and-cup games, but one day I pulled off the ultimate trick: I disappeared off the face of the planet. The police investigated, but I hid myself well. They never found anything, until now of course."

Mia's story amazed me, so this is what that kid had been carrying around with her all this time. Poor Mia...I felt like I should've know. Should've _guessed._

"And even now they have no proof." I managed to say, pulling myself out of my thoughts. "Just random little snippets of information that mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things."

"Exactly." Mia said. "I even managed to find you an alibi. I rummaged through one of your old hideouts and found some stolen security tapes."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Before I knew how to hack, I just stole the footage. But what's that got to do with anything?"

"It shows you robbing a convenience store around the same time I would've been 'kidnapped.'"

"So…." I knit my eyebrows together. "You want me to say I couldn't kidnap you because I was busy robbing a Dollar Store?"

Mia smiled. "Those charges were dropped, remember?"

I paused and thought about that.

"Mia….you're a genius!" I enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug.

"I could kiss you! But that would be weird, so I'm not gonna." I released her.

"Commando?" A voice sliced through the air. "Robin? Guys, where are you?"

I blinked, confused. "_Wally?_ What the…? How the..?"

"You were _really_ focused on saving Robin." Mia smirked.

I laughed. Mia _smirking_? I knew I rubbed off on her.

"Go." She nudged me. "Go home; be with your new family."

I grabbed her wrist desperately. "Mia, come with me. I can pull some strings with the League. I can…"

Mia gently pried my hand off of her forearm. "We both know you have no strings _to _pull, Commando. Don't be silly."

"But…" I pouted. "But…"

"We all have our hardships." Mia smiled again. "You have had them since the day you were born, and they only got worse as you aged."

I shrugged, I knew she was right.

"Commando, this is the happiest I've seen you in a long time. You're more…carefree. Relaxed."

"Relaxed?" I narrowed my eyes. "Almost dying and being forced to give Robin the 'kiss of life' isn't my idea of _relaxing._"

"You know what I mean."

I smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"I will be fine, you trained me after all." She started to back into the shadows.

"Mia, I'm sorry." I blurted out. "Luthor kidnapping me, the League forcing me into their trainee team, _everything_. I'm sorry."

"None of those things were your fault." She chided gently. "Stop being so hard on yourself."

"I…."

"Be happy Commando. By all means, be happy. We all need to find our place in this world, I'm still searching for mine, but you've already found yours. With your hero friends…. with the League….with _Robin_."

"Could you repeat that last part?" I frowned.

"With the League." She smiled.

I raised an eyebrow, wow; she was _really_ good at sarcasm. Partially because she looked so serious when she used it.

"No matter what you may think, Commando, you are a hero. You deserve a happy ending. Everything that goes wrong in life is not always your fault, remember that."

I smiled a little. "Yeah, I'll try…"

"And please, Commando, give Robin a second chance. He's cute, and he is obviously crazy about you. From what I saw when I looked at the Plaza's security cameras, I'd say he's just waiting for you to make the first move. You two are so _cute_ together…"

"Wait…_What_?" My head snapped up.

"Goodbye…" She giggled, disappearing into the darkness.

"Wait! What did you say?" I called desperately. It was no use, Mia was gone.

"Little sneaky Houdini-girl, I regret teaching her how to annoy people now…" I grumbled under my breath.

"Commando?" That was Kaldur, Kal, I turned my head.

"Here!" I shouted. "We're down here!"

I clutched my little box of evidence and hurried to Robin's side.

"We got your distress call." Megan said breathlessly. "Are you alright?"

"Distress call…? Oh…oh yeah, my distress call. Thanks for coming, guys, but you kinda missed the party." I grinned.

_Oh, that girl is scary good, maybe I should take up magic tricks…_

"Bummer. But as least we got to…." Wally looked at Robin, who was lying on the ground—unconscious, filthy, and wet. He looked at my soaked costume and breathless expression. He spotted Robin's vomit in a puddle by his body and down his chin. He added everything together and made a pretty good guess as to what went down.

"Commando…" He smirked. "You and Robin didn't have to create this whole little set-up just to have some alone time..."

"Leave me alone, Freckles…" I turned away from him. Unfortunately, he followed.

"Commando and Robin sitting in a tree..." He sang.

"It was _CPR_, he was _dying._ I had no _choice_." I growled, moving to the very edge of the concrete.

"So it was an _open-mouth_ kiss?"

I grabbed Wally by the wrist and threw him into the Bay.  
>He landed with a huge splash and instantly surfaced, coughing on the Bay scum.<p>

"Oh, yuck. This is….oh, just disgusting." He pulled a face.

Artemis and I were laughing so hard we barely heard him.

"Fastest boy alive, yeah _right_…" I laughed, Mia's words echoing in my head.

"_And please, Commando, give Robin a second chance. He's cute, and he is obviously crazy about you…"  
><em>  
>That didn't mean anything, right?<em><br>_  
>Mia was just messing with my head, right?<br>_  
>Right?<em>

* * *

><p>I heard somewhere that Stayin' Alive can help you keep the beat while giving someone CPR, whether that is true or not, I do not know.<p>

**Question: During Failsafe they show Red Arrow for like, five seconds when the team is giving their inspiring speech to the survivors of the alien invasion. In the backround, you could see Zatanna and someone else. Who was he/she/it? It's been bothering me! Someone please help and I'll love you forever!**

Random: Superboy loses his shirt in almost every episode. I swear, they're doing it stricly for the sake of the female fans. Every time I see him shirtless I scream "FAN SERVICE!" and clap my hands. Which is why my family thinks I'm weird.

During Humanity did anyone else squel when they saw Red Arrow and Green Arrow working together? Seriously, I stood up and screamed "They're helping each other, Oh my god that's _sooooooo_ cute!"

They never touched on it, though, so now I am sad...whimper. 


	25. Return of the shedevil

This isn't a very long chapter, but I love it anyway:D

Why? Well, you'll just have to read to find out...hehe:D

Uniquefreak13 pointed out the quote in my last chapter, YOU ARE AMAZINGLY AWESOME!

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><p>I twisted in the hard wooden chair, eyes moving between Commando, my team, and the judge. After Commando and I had returned from the Two-Face adventure (okay, so I had to be carried back, give me a break) she had given him the box of evidence that her friend Mia had supplied. And, of course, Mia had disappeared again. Commando didn't know where she was. All I'm saying is, even if she does know where Mia went, she won't tell. And, come on, she's <em>Commando.<em> Can you really sit there and tell me she hasn't a clue where Mia's hiding? You can try, but I won't believe you.

Anyway, Batman couldn't prevent a hearing. He was confident that, with Mia's evidence, he could talk the judge into letting the charges drop. A little League interference, and it's like it never happened.

Yeah, Batman is helping her out, _again._

She's a member of the team and she really is innocent, I get that, but….why is he going through so much trouble? Just for_ one_ girl?

_Well, she did save your life…_

A little voice in my head argued. I shoved it away angrily, she did that because we're teammates and she was afraid of what Batman would do to her.

_You sure about that…?_

I argued with myself for another few minutes (not a real _healthy_ thing to do, I know) I heard the judge clear his throat, getting our attention. I thought he was going to speak, but he turned back to his stack of papers and kept murmuring things like _'Hmm…'_ and _'Interesting…'_ things that were probably driving Commando nuts.

Batman turned around and said something to her that I couldn't hear, Commando took a deep breath and looked up at me, trying to keep her expression calm. For the most part she succeeded, she had an epic poker face, but her hands told a different story. She kept tugging at the ends of her cloak and fiddling with her collar, when she wasn't doing that she rapped her knuckles against the table in front of her. It was annoying, but I couldn't really blame her. I wouldn't want to trade places with her for anything.

And to make matters worse, she apparently knew the judge. And like most law enforcement people, he hated her.

She didn't give specifics, but she did say something about grape juice in the man's gas tank after he sent Cameron Mahkent to Juvie for the first time.

Batman stood in front of Commando's table, Canary sat in a chair next to her, and we sat in the very back. Apparently we made the judge nervous. I could tell he wanted to make Batman back off too, but didn't dare say anything.

I had to feel bad for Commando, but to be honest I kind of resented her. Batman was going through a lot of trouble to help her out, and he was so gentle with her when she had been arrested….okay, so I was jealous. But he's my mentor, not _hers_. Why should _she_ get any compassion from him?

Batman's punishments didn't seem to faze her, either. He usually just yelled, gave her chores and forbade her from leaving the Cave for a certain amount of time. She would be frazzled for about half an hour, then she'd chug a liter of soda and shove a few candy bars down her throat and forget about it. When Batman's mad at me, the punishments are usually more severe. Like: No doing anything fun until I say so. Okay, so he didn't say it _exactly_ like that, but I_ really_ don't want to repeat the long boring lecture that I usually get, so I summarized a bit. Commando gets yelled at _a lot,_ though. And believe me Batman yelling at you is probably one of the scariest things on the planet. The girl must have a huge amount of self-control, a meeker person would freak and bolt from the room as soon as Batman shot them the famous 'Bat-glare'

Right now Commando didn't look fearless. The harsh glare from the overhanging lights made her skin look alabaster, like a marble statue. Her shoulder were hunched and her eyes were focused on her hands—which were now undoing her dragon clasp, turning it over in her hands, and then fastening it back under her chin. Canary turned to her and whispered something, probably 'Stop fidgeting.'

Commando didn't talk back, she didn't roll her eyes or scowl, she just put her hands in her lap and started bouncing her leg instead. Canary sighed, and chose to ignore it. I guess she realized that if Commando wasn't being a brat, there was _definitely_ something wrong with her.

The judge finally put down his papers and addressed us. He rambled on about the safety of America and how dangerous and unstable Commando was. How it was his duty to protect the innocent and _blah-blah-blah..._

I blinked at him in surprise. Dangerous? _Unstable?_ I nearly laughed. That was so…_not_ how she is it was ridiculous. Annoying and arrogant might be a bit more accurate. She was a troublemaker, sure, but she was no violent psychopath.

"I can throw you in jail for the rest of your life and not lose one bit of sleep over it." The judge's voice boomed across the room, like he wanted to make sure Commando was as humiliated as possible.  
>Her eyes flashed dangerously, I could tell she wanted to leap from her seat and throttle the man, but she somehow managed to control herself.<p>

It wasn't a question, but Commando nodded anyway.

The judge sighed grudgingly.

"But it seems that Batman here has promised to take full responsibility for your rehabilitation. And he had convinced me of your innocence. The charges will be dropped, you are free to go."

Commando leaped from her seat and whooped. She started laughing hysterically and shouted. "Yes! Yes! _Yes!_ I'm not going to get raped by scary delinquent girls! _Yes!_"

She cartwheeled across the room and stopped right in front of us. She started high-fiving and hugging everyone. In her excitement, she wrapped her arms around me for a second. It was brief, but her touch awakened all my senses like I'd just chugged eight cups of coffee at once. Commando's hair smelled like strawberries, she had a scar just below her jaw line; her cloak was as soft as a baby blanket and slightly crooked because of her messing around with it, the hair on the back of her hair was standing up funny…

She released me just as quick and went back to laughing and making jokes. Even I found myself laughing hysterically; it was hard not to be swept up in the sea of joy emanating from Commando.

For that one moment, everything was perfect.

And then that moment ended. The doors swung open and in strode a tall figure dressed in a black tuxedo and matching tie. The man had an air of authority and wealth about him, like he expected people to bow when he entered the room. Everyone, even the judge who was attempting to make a hasty retreat, stopped dead at the sight of him.

It was Lex Luthor.

I was so focused on Lex; I didn't even see who was coming in behind him. Wally let out a low whistle, like he did when he saw a pretty girl, and I turned around to see my best friend's new crush.

When I saw her, my draw dropped. I realized that _pretty _didn't do this amazing woman justice, and that was my last coherent thought.

I forgot my name. I forgot where I was. I forgot how to speak in complete sentences.

She was wearing a red satin dress and her jet-black hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen: perfect makeup that almost covered her light spattering of freckles, dazzling dark blue eyes, and a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon. She wore a string of pearls around her neck and a pair of matching red high-heels that made her look taller, as if she _needed_ another reason for people to stare at her. Lex drew attention whenever he entered a room, but this woman simply _commanded _it.

She turned and flashed each of us a brief smile, her mouth was full of stunningly white teeth. When she got to me I had to grab onto my chair to keep my knees from buckling. Finally, she reached Commando. The girl's face was chalk white again, her eyes wide with shock.

I expected the woman to smile lovingly like she'd done with the rest of us, but she did something else entirely.

She smirked.

A smug, triumphant smirk that simply screamed _'I'm better than you.'_ When she did that, I nearly fell forward onto the carpet. Not just because it was attractive (which it was) but because in that one moment she'd looked exactly like Commando.

I looked back at the woman, who was once again smiling affectionately at everyone, and murmured something really intelligent, like "uh, um….gah?" I heard Wally mutter something similar back to me. Artemis rolled her eyes at both of us and muttered something about stupid boys.

The woman and Lex walked over to the judge and Lex said something to him. Whatever the reply was, it clearly made Lex angry. Soon Lex and the judge were arguing, their voices hushed so I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Commando….are you alright?"

Kaldur's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, I turned to Commando in curiosity, how could she be upset when she was in the same room with such a beautiful woman?  
>Commando's shoulders were trembling; her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as she stared at the woman, as if she was trying to soak in her presence with her eyes.<br>She turned to him after a moment, like her words just caught up with her and muttered something about being fine before she went back to looking at the lady.

Batman had joined the conversation and Lex looked outraged, his whole big bald head was colored a dark shade of crimson. Lex linked arms with the woman and stalked to the door. Before they exited, however, Lex smiled at Commando and gave the woman a long, passionate kiss on the mouth, and I realized that she was Lex's new girlfriend.

I sighed, Pity. Such a pretty lady dating such a evil man, it wasn't fair.

Commando made a gagging sound and when I turned to look at her I saw her expression was a mixture of shock, disgust, and horror.

I scowled at her, why was she acting so horrible towards such and amazing person such as Lex's girlfriend, she had no right.

They let the doors falls shut behind them and Commando kept staring at the door in amazement, like she'd just discovered the cure for the common cold or something.

"No freaking way…" She said to no one in particular. "No freaking way….not after all this time….I figured she'd get hit by a bus or something…"

"Commando?" Superboy snapped. "Who are you talking about? Who got hit by a bus?"

Commando looked at him, shifting uncomfortably on her feet, before unexpectedly darting towards the doors.

"Commando? Commando!" Aqualad shouted, getting up and racing after her in pursuit. The others followed, and I had no other choice but to go after them.

We found her standing on her tip-toes at a window, looking at something outside. Wally had a hold of her arm, and was once again asking her what the heck was wrong.

Commando glanced at him, then back at the window. She sighed and turned around fully to address him.

"Dude…" her eyes were wide as saucers, her lower lip trembled a bit. She pointed outside to a sleek black limousine containing Lex and the Greek goddess made flesh that was his date.

"That's my mom…"

* * *

><p>Oooh! Did any of you suspect who I was talking about before the end? Did I completely take anybody by surprise? Will my school stop being boring? I actually have an answer for the last one: NO!:D<p>

Randomness: I'm going to write a list of attractive things characters should do all the time:

*Roy in a suit:D (that should be his new costume, seriously)  
>*Superboy shirtless.<br>*Robin without a mask  
>*Robin without a cape.<br>*All the other YJ boys should keep their shirts off all the time, too.  
>I almost died during Infiltrator:D<br>*Wally getting all emotional over Artemis (It was more cute than attractive,  
>but he should still do it more often:D)<p>

Yep, I love YJ so frickin much...:D


	26. Old friends and new enemies

Hey, people, This is the chapter I finished because I missed the bus and had no other way to get to school because everyone else in my house had to work early! YEAH!

I'll tell you right now I wasn't _trying_ to miss the bus, but I will also admit I wasn't trying too hard to get myself ready and on the bus, either.

Read, Review, Please:D

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><p>I laid on my bed, watching random Youtube videos on my laptop and trying to process what I had seen earlier in the day.<p>

Lex was dating my mom.

Ew.

If I can believe the Internet blogs, she was staying with Lex in the Lexcorp headquarters in Metropolis, which wasn't that far away from Happy Harbor.  
>They were together, as in, <em>dating.<em> So they probably share a room, and a bed…

_Ack! Stop it, bad brain!_ I gave myself a quick mental smack.

_Keep thinking like that and you're going to throw up or drive yourself crazy…or both.  
><em>  
>I sighed and clicked out of Youtube, going back to the website with the horrifying image of my mom and Lex holding hands at some charity ball. I studied her image for a moment, she really was beautiful. In the photo, she wore a purple evening gown and her hair was tied up in a bun. She had a glass of red wine in her free hand and seemed to be genuinely happy to be with Lex.<p>

_Yuck.  
><em>  
>After I managed not to barf, I looked back at the image. I always said she would be stunningly beautiful if it hadn't been for all the drinking and now I knew it was true. I really couldn't fault Wally and Robin for ogling her, but… I shook my head.<p>

My mom coming back would only mean one thing: Trouble. Lex saw me without my mask on before, but I didn't know he had matched my face with a name yet. Clearly, if my darling mother's sudden appearance after eight wonderful mom-free years isn't just some incredible coincidence (it's probably not), he had.

I knew he wouldn't go right out and tell the world my secret identity yet. Because I'm really not that well-known as a hero (thank you, Batman!) and no one really cares about the secret identity of a villain. Honestly, they don't even _have_ secret identities, just aliases. Except for me, of course, but we've already established that I'm a special case and besides, the whole 'mysterious thief hiding behind a mask' thing didn't work out so well.

I laughed a little. Seeing my mom again had been a shock…frankly, it scared me. And I'm not sure why. Yeah, she threw me across the kitchen when I was five, but that truly was the only time she abused me. Physically, that is. Lex's presence….well, to be honest my brain barely registered that he was there. I was too busy staring at my mother like she had sprouted extra limbs or something.

I know I should've been all like: "OMG, it's my mom that I haven't seen in eight years! She hates my guts and she's haunted my nightmares for as long as I can remember! Ahhh"

But to be honest, my first thought was: _"_My God, she's sober."

For me, this is a big deal. Last time I saw her when she wasn't drunk or at least tipsy was…..probably right after I was born. Although I'm fairly certain she drank and smoked while I was still, you know, _inside her…_Yeah, explains a lot, doesn't it?

The only reason I was in my room was so I didn't have to answer my friend's stupid questions. Okay, so maybe stupid is the wrong word….The questions were more…._difficult_ than stupid.

In fact, some of them were actually extremely good questions like: _Why didn't you say you mother was still alive?_

She hates me, but I'm not about to tell you that because then I'll have to explain_ why_, next question!

_Where's your father?:_ Prison, but I'll never say that without the persuasion of drugs.

_Why did you make us think you were an orphan?:_ To be fair, I never said that out loud. I merely _implied_ it, but the truth was, I _am_ an orphan. Let's face it, I never had a mother. My stepfather tried to be a good parent, but I spent more time protecting_ him_ than he did protecting me.

The only family members that never let me down were my sweet, innocent baby brother and adorable, lovable, little sister. I just love babies. They don't love you because you have money, or because you're pretty. They don't love you because you're a nice person and like making people laugh…no, babies don't care about any of those things.

Babies love you, simply because you're you.

I bit my lip and shut the lid to my laptop. My whole body was shaking; I grit my teeth as if I was in pain and let a single, lonely little tear run down my cheek. It wasn't fair….It just wasn't _FAIR_!

Even if I did find my siblings again, after all these years, they wouldn't know me. They wouldn't even recognize me. And besides, I must've missed so much: Tyler's first steps, their first day of Kindergarten, watching them bounce around in excitement when they lost their first baby tooth or on Christmas morning when they realized Santa Clause had been their and left presents and gosh, he'd even eaten the cookies and milk they left out, too!

All the gooey family crap you see on TV that you make fun of because, heck, people think that those things are no big deal. That family bonding is stupid.

Guess what, Jerks? It so_ is_, and it's so _not._

I would give anything to have that lost time back, but I made my decision.

It was the best, no…the only option.

I slid off my bed and listened to the sounds of Megan and Conner having dinner, Megs had tried to get me to come out a couple of times, but I was still sulking. The others had gone home, and Black Canary was out. I couldn't talk to the Martian girl anyway; she would just put a wonderful spin on it and make me feel worse. And Conner? Well…he's still learning about _'feelings.'  
><em>  
>I was completely alone.<p>

I sighed, what now? Can't sit in my room and be sad all day, I just….I don't do _depressed. _I suppose I could just change out of my costume and take a shower or something, but being clean won't solve all my problems, and then I'd just go back to being antisocial.

No…no, I have to do something. Go somewhere. Have fun.

I smiled. Well, I have my pick of destinations. Where to go, where to go…?  
>I was reaching for my doorknob when I heard my cell phone buzz. Not the one Wally bought me, the one I got a long time ago. From my big buddy Mike. I don't know why I kept it, or why I kept buying minutes for it. It was normally a back-up cell, and a reminder of the man I considered my surrogate father. I knew which one it was because my ringtone I heard was the Spongebob Squarepants theme song, not the absolutely epic song <em>'Rich Kids'<em> by New Medicine.

Oh, and did I mention that Mike has been in prison for seven and a half years now and won't be eligible for parole for another two years?

I swallowed hard, and flipped open the ancient phone. I cautiously brought it to my ear and uttered a soft "Hello?"

"Kid…? Is that really you…?"

My throat closed up, I knew that voice. The voice that once told me jokes or frequently offered to take me to the park or out for ice cream. The voice that gave me my name, the one that told me he'd protect me. _Always_.

The voice belonged to Michael Chase, nicknamed Mike by his drug addict friends.

"Mike?" My voice cracked. "Are you…okay? You sound like you've been gargling broken glass or something."

Mike managed a laugh, even though I could tell it hurt him.

"Nay, Kid…it's…nothing like that."

"Then what's wrong?" I asked. "Why is the prison even _letting _you talk to me? We both know that I…"

"Listen to me, Jill…" He interrupted, talking fast. "Listen, he stepped out to talk to one of the guards for a moment, but he'll be back. Don't come here. Whatever he says, whatever he…_does_, don't come after me. Please, I don't want to see you hurt…I—"

Mike's voice was cut off. I started to panic.

"Mike? Mike! Say something, are you still there? _Mike!_"

"Mr. Chase can't come to the phone right now, Commando…" A new voice echoed from the speakers.

I narrowed my eyes and turned my lips up into a sneer. "_Lex_."

"Well, you don't seem like you're in a very good mood. Strange, I thought talking to your old friend would cheer you up after seeing my lovely friend and I at the hearing earlier today. To tell the truth I was rather disappointed, I would have enjoyed watching you be thrown into a juvenile detention center. After that, I suppose you would be sent to a real prison, perhaps Blackgate. Unless of course they decided to just send you to a real prison right away, which I know they were considering. Not the usual procedure, for a child your age, but you are a special case after all."

"Leave Mike alone…" I snapped. "He's got nothing to do with this."

"Ah, but you see that's where your wrong. He has everything to do with this, Commando. I needed a way to get you to cooperate, and Chase seemed like the obvious answer…"

"But…." I frowned. "How'd you even know that he took me in?"

"Oh, it wasn't too hard. You're part of a criminal legacy, you know. I met my date through our various contacts and, well, we grew fond of each other."

"Still doesn't explain how you knew about Mike." I growled. Inside my head I kept thinking, _maybe he doesn't know. Maybe I'm safe._

"I'm leading up to that, patience is a virtue, my dear."

I gritted my teeth to keep from swearing when he said _'my dear.'_

"I told her about a rebellious little upstart ruining my business. I described you to her and she became…intrigued. The age was right, she said. And the disobedient attitude."

My blood turned cold. No...There was no way. It wasn't possible.

"So I showed her the security footage of your daring escape. The image was a little grainy, but she easily recognized you. How could she not? You _are_ her eldest daughter…"

I took a deep breath. Lex Luthor knew who I was.

"I'm hearing a lot of crap, Lex." I told him. "What I'm not hearing is how this affected Mike. And why it took you so long to make the connection. Not even Wolfe knew…not even after we made the deal…."

"Again, that would be your amazing mother showing her brilliance." I could hear the arrogance coming from the other end of the line.

"She had a, how shall I put it..? A _relationship _with Mr. Wolfe a few years back…"

"Excuse me while I puke…" I muttered, pulling a face.

"—And that was when she first heard of Commando and Mr. Chase's interesting past together. At the time, she thought nothing of it. How surprised she was to learn that it was her very own little girl that was causing so much trouble. With that information, we came up with a plan. A genius one, your mother's intelligence never ceases to amaze me. We figured that as long as we had Mike, you'd be a good girl for us. Wolfe might not have known who you are, but he does now, and the three of us are finally going to cleanse the earth of you. Remove you from the equation before you poison the minds of any more children."

Luthor's words were chilling, especially the last part where he made it seem like _I_ was the bad guy. But I was still hung up on one thing.

"You didn't know who she was...when you first started seeing her?"

I know, a stupid thing to worry about, but….

"No, Commando. My interest in your mother is not purely professional. We are kindred spirits, I suppose. Does that bother you?"  
><em><br>Oh, no, why would my mother dating a psychotic maniac bother me?_ Then I thought about it.  
><em><br>Wait, why _does_ that bother me? I mean, I hate that woman…Why should I care what she does?_

I couldn't explain why, I didn't know why, but the idea of them…together. It just…it didn't feel right.

"My mother and I haven't spoken in years." I said.

"I feel nothing for her."

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual. But you do feel for Chase, yes? Come here and we'll talk about his early release from jail. Don't and…well, I doubt Mr. Chase wants to leave his cell in a body bag."

Lex must've put me on speaker phone, because I heard Mike crying out.

"NO! Don't do it! He'll kill you! Stay away, you hear? STAY AWAY!"

There was a dull thud, the sound of something blunt smacking against skin, and a man shouting curses and taunts at someone, probably Mike.

"You like that, boy? Do you like that? Scream, you little bitch!" 

Unfortunately, I knew that voice too. It was my least favorite warden: Gregory Wolfe.

There were several more thuds, each one making me wince, before Lex turned speaker phone off and talked to me directly.

"As you can hear, Mr. Chase is in a lot of pain. I wouldn't keep him waiting, oh and Commando? This is a private party. If you bring your little hero friends along, I shoot Chase in the stomach and watch him bleed out and die, understand?"

I breathed heavily, my shoulders trembled with barely-contained rage.

"Understand?" He asked again.

"Yes…" I answered grudgingly. "Yes, I understand."

"You know where to go. Please, be punctual. I'm eager to begin negotiation."

Lex hung up, the cell fell from my numb fingers and clattered to the ground.

I sighed, there was no way around it. I had to disobey Mike _and_ Batman and leave the Cave. There was no other alternative. And believe me, I _so_ wish there was.

I started packing up my gear, I had to be prepared for what was ahead.

I hated it, I didn't want to do it, but to save Mike…I'd do anything.

I had to visit my least favorite prison, Iron Heights Penitentiary. 

* * *

><p>Okay, I have been showing you pieces of Commando's past so far, and soon...very soon, I will reveal the final piece of the puzzle, the reason Commando's mom hates her so much, the reason Dakota and Tyler are only her half-siblings, the reason Jason and her mother were married but and Commando are not related: COMMANDO'S FATHER!<p>

Seriously, he's been mentioned a bunch of times before, but no one's ever asked about him. No one. Which...really surprised me. But whatever, it's all okay!:D

**Anyway, this is where I usually ask a random question or leave a random comment, so now I'm trying something different. Do you have any questions for ME? Like, about me. (I will not answer certain questions if I don't want to, be warned) or about the fic, or Commando, or Young Justice, or whatever. ASK ME ANYTHING!**

Randomness (Cause I just can't resist): Green Arrow's beard scares me. Seriously, have you SEEN IT? It's so pointy to could probably use it as a murder weapon. That's sounds like an interesting power: Beard knives!...I've had WAY to much sugar today in case anyone's wondering. 


	27. I truly am devil spawn

**This is Commando's POV.** Why? Because I tried to write it in Robin's POV and it...it just didn't work. Trust me, if you saw the original chapter you would thank me.

If the ending to this chapter doesn't knock you off your ass, I think I've failed at writing.

Read, Review, Love, Tell your friends and make billboards!

:D :D :D :D

* * *

><p>This was a trap.<p>

I knew that from the moment I got the call.

It didn't stop me from sneaking over to a zeta tube and beaming myself to Keystone City. It didn't stop be from, ahem, _borrowing_a motorcycle from a nearby garage (I'll return it, I promise!) It didn't stop me from climbing on and driving the three miles it took to get to Iron Heights.

No, it didn't stop me. Because I'm an idiot. But, I'm a _loyal_idiot, so here I was.

The giant stone building rose in front of me, barbed wire fences and high guard towers circling the structure.  
>The place was depressing, like I was looking at a morgue. Given what I know about the Penitentiary, it was probably more of a morgue than a prison anyway. The sky was dark and full of stares, if I had the time I'd probably stop to point out constellations.<p>

But I didn't have the time. In fact, I was probably out of time already.

I took another look at the building. The guard towers were empty, the double gates that led into the prison were unguarded.  
>There wasn't even any security cameras. Still, I was careful as I snuck around the towers and crept up to the first gate, which was made of heavy black metal. I gave it a hard push and it swung open easily, normally it would be manned by two guards with a third one hiding out in the nearby control room. The guards would inspect the visitors and then the third man would have to press a button in order for someone to enter. The process was repeated at the second gate, with another set of guards and a button-pusher.<p>

But today, the gate was open, there were no guards.

"This is a trap." I said aloud, like I was hoping someone would tell me otherwise.

No one said a word.

I sighed and pushed open the second gate, and it opened as easily as the first.  
>I approached the building cautiously, even though I knew that Lex was going to allow me into the prison without confrontation.<br>The massive automatic doors that usually required a access code in order to operate merely slid open when I got close enough.  
>As I pondered my own stupidity, I walked through the doors and into the cold, uniform halls of Iron Heights.<p>

The first hall I came into was a place where visitors where supposed to check in to see the prisoners, even though Mr. Wolfe never allowed any outsider that wasn't a part of the Justice League or a cop to see Iron Height's occupants. Trust me, I've tried.  
>I located a clock on one of the beige walls, 8:30, Megan and Conner would have finished eating by now and would probably be sitting around chatting or…making out or whatever.<p>

I sighed, if my plan didn't work no one would know I was missing until tomorrow morning, around eleven when Canary had scheduled a training session.

And by then it'd be too late.

My plan, of course, was already setting itself in motion. But if a single thing went wrong, I was dead meat.

With that comforting thought, I followed the hallways until I came to a door marked CONFERENCE ROOM. I opened it, wondering why a prison would need a conference room and found the keypad cleverly disguised behind a painting on the far wall. I entered the code, which I'd memorized, and waited for the elevator door's to open. When they did, I jumped, even though I knew they were there. A wall suddenly splitting open would surprise anyone, I guess.  
>I entered the elevator and typed in another code. The doors slid shut and the elevator began it's decent.<p>

I took a deep breath and pulled my shirt over my face, knowing that it would soon be necessary.  
>The elevator doors opened, and I choked back a scream. It was the reason I hated Iron Heights. The reason I hated Gregory Wolfe. The reason I'd tried repeatedly to get Mike out of there.<p>

What I saw was so inhumane; it would make a human rights activist have a heart attack. It was little more than a large basement, with rows of cells upon rows of tiny, cramped cells known as the Pipeline. The place was freezing since they never bother to heat the basement, and the only light I had was a few dim light bulbs hanging from chains above my head. My boots were soon coated in muddy water and something else I didn't want to know the name of. The air reeked with sweat, blood, and human excrement. Despite the shirt covered my mouth and nose, I gagged.

I also smelled something else: Fear.

Yes, fear has a smell _and_a taste. Bitter and overpowering, it gets down your throat and coils up in your stomach like a lump of coal. The place wasn't fit for dogs, and yet I knew this was where the meta-villains of Iron Heights were caged. Wolfe had a personal hatred for each and every one of them, so the prisoners were treated cruelly. They were barely fed, and the received almost daily beating. If the League knew about this, they'd shut it down instantly.

I made my way down the walkway, peering into every single cell in search of Mike. I didn't see him. In fact, I didn't see anyone. The cells should be teaming with bloody half-starved prisoners but today they were empty. The only living things down there, it seemed, were me and the rats.

I was considering doubling back to see if I had missed any, when I heard a painful coughing come from a cell just a few meters away from where I stood.  
>You know how everyone coughs differently? Well I recognized this cough; it belonged to my big buddy Mike.<p>

A darted over to the cell, pulling a Maglite from my pocket and shining it into the darkness. It was Mike, a little older perhaps but he had the same short-cropped blonde hair and kind-looking hazel eyes.

"Kid?" He rasped, he sounded weak. "Is that you? Jeez, you got tall. And what's with the get-up? You look like a dime-store magician."

I smiled and shook my head. "Glad to see some things never change."

Mike gave me a side-ways grin and stumbled to his feet, clutching his ribs in agony.

"Mike…" I whimpered. "I…I'm sorry. I made a deal with Wolfe; he said he'd leave you alone if I didn't tell. He said if I stayed away you'd be treated better…"

"Kid…" Mike smiled again. "He lied."

"I can see that…" I frowned, examining the deep hollows in his cheeks, greasy hair, and stubbly face.

"Come on, we're getting you out of here…" I pulled a hairpin from my pocket and fiddled with the lock on his cell until it opened for me. I was lucky Wolfe had a flair for the theatrics, or I would have needed to find the keys.

As soon as the door was open, I couldn't contain myself. I ran over to Mike and threw my arms around him in a hug. His orange jumpsuit smelled, and I was probably hurting him but I didn't care. Seven and a half years I'd been away from him. Seven and a half years he'd been in prison. I just needed to touch him, to _hold_him.

Mike patted my back gently and ran his hands through my hair. "I guess you missed me, huh?"

"Shut up…" I pulled away from him. "We gotta hurry, Lex will be here any…"

"Any moment now?" A voice made my head snap to the right.

It was the big bald blowhard himself, flanked by my dear mother, Wolfe, and a fourth conspirator whose presence I had anticipated, but still wasn't comfortable with. He was a well-known mobster, who should be serving hard time in Blackgate right now. He had dirty blonde hair slicked back on his head with some weird kind of gel; his eyes were cold and calculating. His cheeks weren't as pointy as Lex's or my mom's, his nose was somewhat round, like a stone. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time we'd met. Wolfe and the man were business partners, and he had his own reasons for wanting me out of the picture. Something about me beating up his uncle and doing a quick drop-and-dash in front of the cops. I chuckled at the irony of it, if only he knew…

"Really, Mom?" I turned to the she-demon. "I can't believe you're hanging out with _him _of all people, after what happened…" I shook my head.

"He's promised to behave himself." She replied coolly. "And if he tries to pull something, Lex has ordered Wolfe to shoot him in the back."

Wolfe patted the mobster on his shoulder and both men grinned, like they were just a couple of old friends hanging around at a bar.

"Still, does he know…?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Know what?" The mobster frowned.

"Wait!" Mike held up a hand. "I'm so confused. She's your _mom._"

"Mike, buddy. I love you, really I do. But, please…" I glanced at Lex. "_Please_shut up."

"Shutting up." He nodded in agreement.

"So, Lex, what do you want this time? My head on a stick?" I asked.

"You'll never change, will you Commando?"

Mike's mouth twisted in a grin at the name _'Commando.'_I shot him a quick death glare and turned back to Lex.

"Sorry, I learned most of my bad habits from him." I pointed at Mike.

"It's true. I ruined her…" he pouted.

"So, if you'll just let us pass we can be on our way…" I said with false hopefulness.

"Not a chance." Wolfe sneered.

"Can't blame a girl for trying." I shrugged.

He scoffed, but said nothing more.

"Here's what's going to happen, girl." Lex said, his voice becoming commanding and strict like he was addressing the board. (I freely admit I don't know what a board is. When it's used like that, at least)

"You're going to put your weapons down on the floor in front of you. Then going to sit on the floor with your palms facing up so we can subdue you safely."

"First of all, I'm not sitting down on _that_ floor. It's _disgusting_." I pulled a face.

"Second, I think I'll hold onto my weapons. I kinda like them." I had to keep him talking, just a few more minutes….

"So arrogant…" Lex shook his head. "I can see why you despised her so much, darling." He said to my mother.

My face twitched. _Darling?_

"She was always a rotten child, Lexie, I was glad to be rid of her."

I literally gagged that time. _Lexie?_

Lex chucked and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into a kiss.

_Okay, that's it. I'm going to puke…_

Mike took the opportunity to lean down and whisper in my ear. "You got a plan, right?"

"Yeah…" I whispered back, not taking my eyes of Lex. "We just need to stall for time."

"That's sick, Lex. Really, really sick. Seriously, I think I'm going to lose my lunch…" I clutched my stomach in not-so-fake nausea.

"For God's sake, man, keep it PG! We got a _kid _in the room." Mike added.

"Actually…" Lex tapped his earpiece. "We have _two_."

"Two?" Mike asked.

"Two…" My heart sunk.

"That's right. You had it all planned out, didn't you. Your little sidekick friend would come along and save you while you had all my attention. You see, Commando, I did allow you to enter the building, but it was by no means unguarded." Lex waved his hands and four lackeys appeared, holding a hogtied and gagged boy between them.

I almost cried in frustration. It wasn't fair. I was so close. I was so careful…

The boy Lex now held prisoner was Robin.

Our eyes met, and something passed. Understanding? Forgiveness? I wasn't sure.  
><em><br>The others..._ I small flame of hope sparked in my chest. _Lex said 'friend.' Singular. Maybe he doesn't know about the others…_

"You're nothing but a flake, Lex…" I sniffed. "You think kidnapping…er…_birdnapping _the Boy Wonder is going to make me cooperate?"

"Oh, Commando…I _know_it will." He smiled cruelly

"You see, girl, every one has a fatal flaw. Yours is personal loyalty. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. That's very dangerous in someone like you. Dangerous, but easily manipulated. We smacked Mr. Chase around a little and you came running, you were willing to risk exposure to bring Max to the hospital, and now, my dear, you will surrender. Or I will shoot the boy."

He waved his hand again and the mobster grabbed Robin, pressing a gun into his temple. When Robin saw him, he started struggling even more furiously against his bonds. His inner rage making him rash. What was his deal with the mobster? I didn't know, and I didn't have time to ask.

"You have five seconds…"

Not good, not good at all.

"Umm...uh, I…"

"Four seconds…"

"C'mon, Lex, let's not be too hasty…"

"Three…"

"We can work this out, surely."

"Two…"

"WAIT!" I cried, holding out my hands to stop him. The man's dirty blonde head snapped up, a quizzical expression on his smug face.

I took a deep breath. I had one more ace up my sleeve. My very survival-plus Robin and Mike's-all depended on the man believing my story, the documents I had tucked into the waistband of my pants and his mobster values holding out. Supposedly, family meant a lot to him. I'm pretty sure that meant his _crime _family, so I wasn't sure how he'd act towards a blood relative, but I had to try.

"Please, mister…" I begged.

"Please don't kill him, as a _personal _favor. Please don't kill him…"

"Personal favor?" He frowned. "Kid, I _hate_you…"

"You hate _Commando_…" I corrected. "But what about Jill Jackson? Do you even know who I am to you?"

The mobster's face was blank.

I rolled my eyes. "Thirteen years ago? Mrs. Talia Jackson? Dark alley behind the railroad tracks? Any of this ringing a bell?" I asked sarcastically.

Realization slowly donned on him, he glanced at my mom, Talia, and then back at me.

"You mean…?"

"Yes, Tony Zucco…" I spoke his name, the name of a man I've hated all my life.

"I am your daughter."

* * *

><p>Hey, guys! Did you see that one coming? I hope not! I would like to know if you had any theorys about Jill's dad before this chapter, though. I hinted about it here and there...but no one picked up on it...Anywho, we all know who Tony Zucco is, right? Uh-huh...yep. That's the one.<p>

I took some liberties with how he looked, but to be fair I have seen a version of Tony Zucco with dirty blonde hair before, so...yeah.

Okay, so random time: LEX IS SOOOOOOOO SCARY ON YOUNG JUSTICE! His bald head looks like an egg. I wonder if you could cook eggs on his head. Would they be called Eggs over Lex?


	28. Questionable Parentage

__

Hey, people! This is a new chapter! Duh!

Robin's POV!

Heyyyyyyyy, I like pancakes!:D

:D :D :D :D :D 

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><p><em>Commando is Zucco's daughter?<br>_  
>I stopped struggling against the man. He let go of me and I slumped to the ground, too shocked to catch myself. Tony Zucco, the man that destroyed my family, was the father of one of my teammates.<br>_  
>Great.<em>

I studied Commando and Zucco's faces, searching for a family resemblance. The more I looked, the easier it was to pick out little features here and there that they shared. The jaw line, the lips, the complexion, the nose—all similar. I couldn't believe I'd never saw it before, but then again I never _thought_ to look.

Zucco stared at Commando for a long, long, time. He turned to Talia and narrowed his eyes, clearly furious.

"You never said the kid was _my _kid, Talia."

The woman's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'm sure you can forgive me, given the circumstances. I never wanted a baby, certainly not one that looked like _you,_ Zucco."

"You said she was Jackson's girl."

"I lied, Anthony, does that really surprise you? After what you _did _ to me?"

"Oh shut up, bitch. _You _were the one that wanted to play mattress monkey in the first place. Don't keeping playing the whole _'he stole my innocence!'_ card just because I fucked ya and dumped ya."

"I hate you both_. So much_." Commando growled.

"Ahhh, family bonding time, isn't it beautiful? Just makes you want to take a picture!" Lex chuckled.

"SHUT UP!" All three of them shouted at once, before continuing the argument.

"I_ told _ you 'no'." Talia snapped.

"Then you _screamed _ 'yes' and pounced on me!" Zucco retorted.

"None of this is making me feel any better, ya know! Why didn't you just give me to the nice pedophiles that lived down the street if you hated me so much, Mom? They would've treated me better than you ever did!"

"You were an ungrateful little brat!"

"Ungrateful? What did I have to be _grateful _ for? You throwing me across a kitchen? How about when you said that I was worthless? Or maybe that one Christmas when you told me Santa Claus didn't bring me any toys because I was a bad kid? As for you, Zucco, I just hate you. You're a sick psycho that deserves to rot in prison!"

"Hey, I'm not the reason you had a crappy life! That was _her_ fault." He sneered.

"Right, you're just the _victim _in this…" She muttered.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I really do think we should be going." Lex looked at his watch.

"It won't be long before the Justice League arrives to retrieve their brats. Zucco, take care of Robin and grab your daughter, will you?"

"You stay out of this, Lex!" Commando glared at him. I noticed a faint glimmer of desperation in her eyes and I realized that the whole argument she'd brewed up between her 'parents' was simply a distraction. She was waiting for the team to find us.

I racked my brain; the others were looking for a way in when I got grabbed. Wally said that Commando's desperate text told him to come to Iron Heights and help her out. She'd given a list of instruction, access codes and directions to get to where we were now. Aqualad had told us to hold back, he couldn't believe that the prison gates were unlocked, even though Commando said they would be. How long would it take for them to get here? Another five minutes? Ten? I didn't know.

I watched Commando shout insults and accusations at the pair, Lex and Mike standing on the sidelines. Mike looked confused, and Lex and Wolfe were watching the proceedings like a tennis match. His eyes bounced from person to person as they spoke. I hate to admit it, but the plan was genius. A little risky, sure, but _genius._

Maybe Zucco wasn't even Commando's father. She'd only mentioned her mom once before, and she'd said that she always had more than one boyfriend at any given time. Maybe Commando was simply a result of a one night stand, and the story she gave Zucco was just a clever lie. After all, if Talia was with so many other men perhaps even_ she _ didn't know who the real father was.

Maybe…just maybe.

"Hey, losers! Over here!"

I smiled, Commando's plan worked.

The speaker was KF, he grinned at me and waved. The others stood behind him, ready for a fight.

Lex's face twisted up in panic, he started to back away from the circle of people, gesturing for his lackeys to follow. Zucco and Talia glared at my team, not realizing their boss was abandoning them. They drew handguns, and Zucco was the first one to speak.

"Look, brats. I don't wanna have to shoot you, but I will if…"

Kid Flash zoomed forward and took the guns right from their hands, made a U-turn, and skidded to a stop in front of the two.

"You were saying?"

"I…I umm…."

"Hey!" Commando shouted. "Lex is getting away!"

"Let him go." Aqualad ordered.

"We have three criminals here we need to apprehend. Lex will have to be dealt with later."

"But…!"

"_No_, Commando. End of discussion."

Commando pouted, but didn't argue further.

"Hey, wait a minute, _three_ criminals?" Wolfe shouted. "I'm no criminal. I'm a honest, law-abiding…"

"We've seen the Pipeline, Mr. Wolfe…" Artemis growled. "Ever hear of human rights? Look, I don't believe in treating prisoners _nicely_, but that's just plain cruel."

"Where are the other prisoners?" Commando turned to Mike.

"Lower levels probably." He shrugged.

Commando rolled her eyes.

"Well, sorry I forgot to ask!"

"Whatever…"

When I turned my attention back to the criminals, I saw that they were already handcuffed and Wally was kneeling beside me trying to loosen my bonds.

"You can't do this to me!" Talia shrieked. "I'm a victim! Jill, tell them!"

Commando quirked an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Don't do this to me, I'm your mother!"

"Lady, I've never seen you before today. Sure, I played along when Lex was here, but I haven't the foggiest clue who you are."

Zucco glared at her accusingly. "You said she was your daughter. How many times have you lied to me?"

"She…she _is_ my daughter!"

"Sure, whatever…"

"It's the truth!"

Superboy grabbed the three people and started shoving them toward the exit. The ropes fell away from my body and I ripped the handkerchief of my mouth.

"What was that about?" I asked Commando.

"Pretending like I didn't know who she was? That was so Zucco and Wolfe think my mom lied to them about everything. They're not like Lex; they'll expose me just for the fun of it. Of course I still have to worry about baldy, but as it stands he has nothing to gain from it. If he truly wants to hurt me, which I know he does, he'll go about it some other way."

"So…Zucco's not really your dad?"

Commando laughed. "Course not! Talia is my mom, yes, but my real dad was a heroin addict that lived across the street from my mom around the time I was...you know, _conceived_."

I felt a wave of relief pass over me. If they really were related, I wouldn't know what I'd do, I'd probably think about Zucco every time I looked at Commando. I don't know how I'd be able to function around her.

Aqualad gave Commando a funny look, but said nothing.

"Umm…guys?" Mike cleared his throat.

"I...uhh…what happens to me?"

Commando looked at Aqualad, begging with her eyes. "Come on, Kal, we can't leave him here…"

"Yes, but…he did break the law."

"It was just drug possession! He should've gotten out a long time ago, but because Wolf knew we where connected somehow he kept extending the  
>sentence!"<p>

"It's true, the cops only found about a quarter ounce of pot on me. _Not _ enough for a joint." Mike offered.

"Not helping!" Commando snapped.

Aqualad sighed. "We bring him back to the Cave, I suppose. Let Batman figure out what to do with him."

"Yeah!" Commando pumped her fists in to air.

Mike stumbled and fell forward, nearly flattening Commando. A sleeping gas arrow lay by his head.

"What was that for?" Commando glared at Artemis.

She shrugged. "Couldn't let him see the way to the Cave. Megan's going to knock out your mom and the guys too."

"Wish you would've let me do the _knocking out_…" Commando muttered, crossing her arms.

"I would've_ loved_ to leave a mark on that smug face of hers…"

* * *

><p>Hey, Guys! Is Zucco really Jill's dad? I'm not saying...yet.<p>

_**I wanna know, who's your favoite Young Justice character/pairing? I'm a HUGE Spitfire shipper with some SuperMartian love thrown in there:D My fav characters are Robin, Wally, Artemis, and Red Arrow (my God he's HOT:D)**_

Random: During the episode Bereft, when Wally and Artemis were fleeing the cabin-y thingy that they where in when Artemis woke up they made a heart for a quick second. I swear, watch the episode. After the place gets blasted apart, pause the TV or put it in slow motion. Artemis's leg is twisted weird and Wally is leaning funny...Just saying, no effin WAY it was an accident. SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES!:D


	29. Mommy dearest

UPDATE, UPDATE, EVERYONE LOVES UPDATES!

CAAAAAAAANDDDDDDDDDY

Review, review, review!

**Commando's POV, just so we're clear:D**

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><p>Two weeks.<p>

It had been two weeks since the incident at Iron Heights. During that time my wonderful parents and Wolfe had been taken to jail. Zucco for obvious reasons, and Lex was right—my mom is involved with some pretty dark stuff. Last time I checked they found her guilty of several accounts of drug trafficking and, after some pushing from Batman, child abuse. Apparently making a five year old feel like crap every day of her life and then launching her across a room is considered _'wrong.'_

Lex slunk away and, like always, the League could not find any proof that he was involved which they were sorry for and _blah-blah-blah…_Mike had been granted early release, since he should've been out a long, long time ago, and he was living in an apartment building in downtown Happy Harbor. Batman gave him some money to help him get back on his feet, and last time I talked to him he told me he'd gotten a job. He'd always wanted to be an artist, so he was planning on saving up to go to college. I never thought I'd see the words Mike, job, and college together in the same sentence, but he seemed like he was honestly making an attempt to make something of himself. I was going to visit him again on this weekend.

Batman and the League shut down Iron Heights, relocating the prisoners to various other penitentiaries. There would be a huge investigation, and hopefully the next warden would be, you know, _sane._ If they reopen Heights at all, that is.

Good news all around, right?

_Wrong._ There was still one itsy bitsy thing I had to take care of.

I didn't want to; I really, _really _ didn't, but….I had to. It had waited far too long, eight years too long…

I had to talk to my mother.

I was led along seemingly endless beige hallways by a young cop. Normally, I can't stand policemen. They make my eye twitch, and I usually ended up decking them. This guy I didn't mind much, he had a nice smile and kind eyes. Plus, the man couldn't be any older than twenty-six, if that. Canary offered to come with me, but I turned her down. I had to do this alone. The man stopped at one of the doors, a room designed for interrogations.

"Dunno why they're having you meet your mom here…" The cop furrowed his brow.

"It goes against protocol, and besides, you're just a kid…"

I smiled at him. "I'll be fine."

With that, I swung open the door and entered the room. I tried to keep my head held high and a confident look on my face, but the sight of my mom still nearly knocked me off my feet. She was dressed in prison orange, one hand handcuffed to her chair. She pretended not to see me enter, I shut the door behind me and still she did not move. She lifted her free hand and examined her nails, like she was contemplating getting a manicure.

I sat down in the chair across from her, leaning back and propping my feet up on the table. There was no security camera in the room; Batman had arranged that for me.

I said nothing, neither did she.

For a few minutes we just sat there, me casually reclining in my seat and her peering at her fingernails.

I swung my legs off the table and leaned forward. The silence was getting to me.

"Well?" I asked.

"Well." She replied.

Silence.

"Aren't you going to say….anything?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"What's there to say?" Her voice was ice-cold. "You got me thrown in prison."

"No…" I shook my head. "You did that to yourself."

I pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. "Not that I feel bad, of course. If it where up to me you'd be locked up in a maximum security prison somewhere, not this cushy little Star jail."

"Star City's penitentiaries are not _cushy_, I can assure you."

"And I can assure_ you_, compared with Gotham's and Metropolis's, they are."

Talia chuckled softly. "So cynical and rude—and still just a teenager! I can't _imagine _what you'll be like when you get older."

"Lady…" Under the table, I clenched my fist. "You don't know me now, you didn't know me then. What makes you think you have the right to say what I'll be like when I'm an adult?"

"People don't change." She sneered.

"No…" My shoulders slumped a little, my eyes bore into hers. "I guess they don't..."

"Is there a purpose for this visit?"

"I need to know why." I folded my handed in front of me, real businesslike.

"Why?" Talia frowned, clearly puzzled. "Why what?"

I took a deep breath. "Truthfully, mom, I have a lot of _'whys'_ that I'd like someone to answer. But let's start with a big one: Why'd you blame me for everything that went wrong in your life. I was just a little kid, practically a baby. I just…I don't understand how you could be so heartless towards your own _daughter."_

She scowled, her eyes were cold and void of all compassion. "My daughter is Dakota Jackson."

I nodded; I'd expected her to say something like that. "Yes, _Jackson_. That's Jason's last name, it's my last name. And, for awhile, it was _yours _as well. You were married to him when I was born, mom. You cheated on him, and he knew it. You told the police you were raped, which really pisses me off. Rape is one of the most horrible and terrifying experiences that can happen to someone. It messes up people's lives, some rape victims commit suicide because the pain and humiliation is too much to handle. I know, I've seen it happen. You playing it off like it's nothing…using it as a way to gain sympathy. It makes me sick, mom, it really does. I know it sickened dad, too. But he stayed with you. He convinced you not to get an abortion, not to give me up for adoption, and you hated him for that."

I studied her expression, hoping for a change. There was none.

"But don't you see? He did it because he loved you. For some _inconceivable _ reason he cared for you, and he cared for me because I was your child. Then you had two children with him, two beautiful little babies. You showered them with affection, not because you loved them, but because you wanted to hurt me. You made it so freaking in-your-face it was ridiculous. And Grandma—poor woman—she wanted to help me. And when she herself needed help, what did you do…?"

"That was _not_ my fault!" Her voice started to rise.

"Then whose was it? _Mine_? Of _course _ it was! _Everything's _ my fault, isn't it?"

"She...she tried to get custody of you!"

"Because she knew how you treated me! She knew, and she wanted to get me away from you! She wanted to _protect_ me! But then she got her cancer. And Grandma….Grandma was poor, because Grandpa died when you where a kid, right? And she never had a real high-paying job before she retired. She was a tough old bird, but without treatment….Without treatment she didn't stand a chance!"

"SHUT UP!" Talia shut her eyes. "SHUT UP!"

"We weren't rich, mom! I know that. But we did have extra money, I know about your little side funds that you used to pay for your drugs and alcohol. And you could've helped her! But no, you didn't! Because you wanted to hurt me! If you had she…she'd still be alive!"

"QUIET!" Her eyes opened, she strained against her handcuff. "BE QUIET, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"  
><em><br>No, Mommy, __you__ be quiet!__**  
><strong>_  
>That day, I hadn't backed down.<p>

And I wouldn't today, either.

"You know I'm right, mom." I gave her a push; she fell back into her chair. "You know I'm right, and you just can't stand it, can you?"

She grunted in frustration, but she seemed to be calming down. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You really want to know why?" She asked.

I nodded.

She took a deep breath, eyes closed.

When she opened them, they were filled with pure hate. I knew then that there was no hope for any kind of relationship between us. It was just a simple glare, but it was like she'd just drawn up the paperwork to have me disowned.

"Zucco promised me the world. He said that we'd be together, happy and rich. No worries, no pain, everything would be perfect. You see, girl, you were _tried_ for. Zucco wanted an heir, a child he could teach to take over his empire. I was hesitant at first, but then I agreed."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. Wholeheartedly."

"I'm guessing he wanted a boy?"

"Actually, no. He said that any gender would do. Just as long as he could teach the child to be clever and persuasive, just as long as he could teach the child to be the suave, intelligent leader that would become the new head of his criminal organization. Look at you, kid, you're everything he wanted you to be, and he didn't even train you! Does it feel good that you've lived up to Daddy's expectations? If you went to him and told him you lied and you really _are_ his daughter, I bet he'd be proud of you. Commando, daughter of Tony Zucco, thief, kidnapper, juvenile delinquent! That's quite a title, you know."

"I'm no thief." I said, forcing myself to stay calm.

"I always took what I needed, never more. I didn't steal for an adrenaline rush or because I wanted to look cool, no that's a _thief._ I am merely a Robin Hood."

She laughed, like the idea amused her.

"And I'm not a kidnapper, either. My friends were there by choice. Sure, most of them where runaways. Sure, I took them in. Does that make me a kidnapper?"

"You need to start reading law books, kid..." She smirked. "If you did, you'd know that technically you _are_ considered a kidnapper."

"A kid kidnapping another kid…" I mused. "Huh, I bet that doesn't happen very often."

Talia glared again, clearly my sense of humor was not winning me any brownie points with my dear mommy.

"Then, shortly after I learned I was pregnant, Zucco went after another woman…" She shook with anger.

"He loved me…he said he did!"

"Don't confuse love with lust, mom." I told her. "And, trust me, there is a difference."

"I wanted to be with him, he told me to beat it…" She continued as if I hadn't said anything.

"So you did tell him about me?"

"No..." She bristled. "If I did, he would've begged me to come back. Not because he wanted _me_, but because he wanted to make sure his heir was raised right…" The bitterness in her voice wasn't surprising, but her words were.

_Not because he wanted __me_…

"Oh…oh wow…" I gaped, I couldn't believe it. All this time, and _that_ was the reason? It was like a slap in the face.

"What's wrong with you?" She snapped.

"You treated me like that…." I laughed a little, in utter disbelief. "Because you where jealous of me?"

"No…" She growled.

"You're lying…" I shook my head. "You're so lying. Oh, I can't believe it. That's…_rich._ And here I was, thinking it was something important." I stood up, ready to leave.

"That's right, get out!" She sneered.

I turned slightly "Yeah, that's right. Get all tough when you see me leaving…."

My hand closed around the doorknob, I hesitated.

"What're you waiting for? GET OUT!"

I turned around completely; I met my mother's eyes one last time. I knew I'd never see her again, because there was no way I would willingly go visit her after today.

"Mom…" I began; I still had no idea why I kept calling her that. She was no mother.

"What?"

"Kota…and Ty. What happened to them?"

She looked down.

"A few years ago….they were taken from me. Neglect...is a form of child abuse, I guess. I got drunk one day, woke up in some weird Mexican hotel. Found out I'd been gone for three days, I managed to avoid jail time by going to AA classes, but…they were placed in care. The social workers told me there was no hope of getting them back."

I sighed and opened the door. As I closed it the only thing I could think of is how hard it must've been for them. For my poor baby brother, and my innocent little sister.

Canary was leaning up against the far wall, her eyes were sad.

"I'm guessing you eavesdropped?" I said, quirking an eyebrow.

"The walls are thin. You two were loud." She said simply.

I sighed. "I said what needed to be said."

"I know…" She put her arm around me. "I know…"

"So…your siblings." She said after awhile. "We can find them for you, you know. We could arrange a little reunion. I'm sure they'd be happy to see you."

"Tyler…." My eyes glistened with tears. "Dakota…Jeez…I…"

I looked at Canary, I knew what I needed to do.

"I love them, Canary." I said. "I love them with all my heart. But….I think I need to get my own life back on track before I drag them back into it."

She looked surprised, and then she smiled.

"I understand…" She said, and I really hoped she did.

Then she did something I'll never forget.

She took my hand like I was a little girl, and she led me away from the room. She didn't let go until we reached her car, and that was just so she didn't wreck.

I wasn't a baby; I didn't need my hand held. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating.

And I absolutely loved her for it. 

* * *

><p>Review, people! PLEASE?<p>

Random: The one kid at the Halloween dance was dressed as 90's Conner, so I've heard. But...but why? Why would Conner wear that? He's...he's not. He is...I...I'm so confused:(


	30. Wally and me and Commando makes three

Okay, you guys better appreciate this, because I had to scrap to get this chapter up. I had a Christmas-themed chapter ready, but I cannot access it and I am typing on my new phone. So...yeah. :D

kind of a short chapter, but hey, I just figured out I could type on my phone and I've been missing for awhile so...whatever:D

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><p>I readjusted my sunglasses and cast a sideways glance at Commando. She'd been acting a bit strange ever since she visited her mother in prison. Not bad strange, in fact she wasn't even being that annoying anymore.<p>

Which was kind of the problem.

She didn't really joke around as much, and on the rare occasions she did it was obvious her heart wasn't in it. She didn't put any buckets of icy water on top of the doors, she didn't use furtiture polish to make the training room floor slippery so Wally would trip and hurt himself when he came skidding in. She stopped back- talking people, she wasn't even calling me Robbie anymore.

That bothered me more than I'd like to admit.

So when Wally and I made plans to grab some pizza and hang around at the arcade for a few hours, he insisted that we bring her along. It was sort of annoying, because with her around I had to wear my shades. I don't know, I guess I was looking forward to spending a few hours as Richard Grayson. Wally told Commando to just call me 'R.' Although, it wasn't much of a problem, considering she was still playing the whole 'let's act like Conner and be antisocial' game.

Commando was on the other side of the room, playing ski ball. The machine was spitting out an insane amount of tickets, but she didn't even smile. Commando looked at her score and shrugged, before tearing off her tickets and walking over to a new game.

I shook my head. Incredible, she couldn't even get excited about completly annihilating the ski ball machine. I turned, nearly running right into Wally.

"Whats wrong with Jill?" he asked.

"Besides the obvious?"

"I'm serious! She couldn't still be upset over the whole fiasco with her mother, could she?"

I shrugged, I still didn't completely understand what had gone down. I mean, how could you hate your own mother? Grant it, both my parents had been nothing but loving and supportive, but still...the thought was almost inconseivable.

"I'm sure she'll be..."

"GUYS!" Commando's voice cut through our conversation.

It was the first time she'd showed emotion and didn't mumble all day, so we came rushing over. She was stuck in the middle of a group of kids, each pushing and shoving in order to see the flat screen TV mounted on the wall. The GBS news was on, and we could see Pycho Pirate laughing maniacally as bystanders fell to the ground around him, shivering and crying as their greatest fears were brought to life before their eyes. It was an experiance similar to being exposed to Joker Gas, except that a person could be snapped out of it easier.

But it was just a frightening, just as damaging.

"So what? The League will take care of it..." I forced myself to sound nonchalant, like a carefree teenager spending the day at an arcade with a good friend and a mopey tagalong.

Commando's eyes flashed angrily, a bit of her usual spirit coming back. "The League is off on some high-priority mission, remember? That's why we got the day off!"

I winced, she'd said the words quickly and quietly, but their were a lot of people around and someone easily could've heard.

"Besides, take a look at who's there." she pointed at a boy on the screen, a ten-year-old kid with hazel eyes and spiky black hair. Unlike everyone else, he wasn't running. He just stood there, staring blankly at Pirate and the tortured civilians.

"Isnt that one of your...um...friends?" Wally asked.

She nodded. "Sammy."

Her eyes were narrowed in concentration, she bit her lower lip so hard it nearly drew blood.

"Somethings wrong with him." she announced.

"Well, I guess it's a bit weird he's not running, but.."

"It's not that!" she snapped. "it's just...the way he's standing. And his eyes...we gotta go!"

I frowned at her.

"We're in civvies." I was seriously starting to worry that someone was going to hear.

She shifted her backpack off her shoulder and handed it to me, a smirk plastered all over her face.

I unzipped it a little, and caught a bright flash of canary yellow material. Angry, I zipped it back up and threw it at her.

"Do you have any idea how risky that was? If someone saw..."

"Hey, it was Freckles's idea.." she jerked a thumb in his direction.

"And I'd say it was pretty lucky. I mean, imagine if we didnt have them. We wouldn't be able to go!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Did you plan this?"

She laughed. "Yeah, buddy, I made Phyco Pirate attack the city, then I manipulated Wally into making me come with you guys, and finally I coherced poor innocent Wally into packing up our gear and bugging me until I agreed to carry it for him. I. Am. _Diabolical_." she said, pursing her lips and shaking her fist in front of her face theatrically,

Dropping the act, she grinned at me and said "Seriously, dude, I'm good, but not that good."

She turned, swaggering toward the exit with the pack slung casually over her shoulder while I tried to decide exactly when my life got so complicated.

* * *

><p>Dear Young Justice fandom, you guys are starting to tick me off. I do love you guys, really I do. But...come on. Yeah, we're on a hiatus right now, and it looks like the show wont be coming back untill February or March, maybe longer, so what is half the fandom doing? Having crazy blood-filled ship wars! Yeah, I am a harecore shipper, but I'm not glong online to bully and insult people. And why are they doing this? Because they like a different fictional pairing than you. Guys...it's not real. Seriously it's getting insanse. Can't we all just love our own pairings and bask in the glow of YJ? I sound like a fandom hippie...<p>

Random: During Humanity I found it ridicoulously hilarious that everyone was all like "save megan! Megan's dying!" oh and Kadur's in there too frying like a fish stick but, hey, he'll probably be okay, let's not worry about him.


	31. Delusional

Hey, people! I love all my reviewers! Ship wars get on my nerves! CAAAKE!:D

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><p>I ducked behind an abandoned Mercedes next to Wally, peering out at Pycho Pirate. He still had many of the civillans under control, but that couldn't be helped. Wally and Robin had told me that the best way to help them was taking down Pirate. I felt stupid, like a little kid who needed someone to hold their hand.<p>

Sure, I've heard of the guy. Sure, I've ripped him off a couple times. Sure, I'm a very prominant indivisual on his hit list. Doesn't mean I know how to fight him.

My eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a certain golden-eyed boy. But Sammy was nowhere in sight, it was like he dissappead off the face of planet.

I bit my lip, maybe I just _thought_ I saw Sammy. had a pretty wacky imagination, maybe I just saw what I wanted to see...

_No_... I set my jaw. _I know what I_ saw...

I saw Sammy, I know I did. There was something wrong with him...I couldn't explain it. It was almost like when someone got a haircut. It's still them, but it's just a little weird looking at them because your used to seeing them a certain way. It was like that, except with his whole aura. Something was just clearly..._off_..

"Where's Robin?" I asked, just realizing that the Boy Wonder wasn't with us.

Kid Flash motioned to an alleyway a few yards away from us were I could just make out the boy's outline and the dim light of his wrist computer. Then KF pressed a finger to his lips, the universal symbol for 'shhh..' and went back to playing statue.

I frowned, the boys had said they faced Pirate before, why were they so tense? I know I've never been exposed to Pitate's illusions before, or Joker Gas for that matter. But I faced my worst nightmare all the time, in my dreams. I'd gone a whole month without having it, a new record, but I could still remember every terrifying second. What inner demons could this man show me that I haven't aleady seen a million times? What deep-rooted fears could he bring to the surface that I wasn't already aware of?

I nudged Wally and mouthed the words 'we got a plan?'

He glanced over at Robin and shrugged. I rolled my eyes, Wally is a science prodigy and relatively smart, but sometimes little things like making up a plan or understanding when a girl is totally crushing on him stump him. I squinted, Wally might be content to let Birdboy make the plans, but I spent most of my life being the big sister or the team leader, I wasn't accustomed to following orders.

I listened to Batman, you know, sometimes, because the man could scream Hitler into submission and his Batglare is probably the single most terrifying thing you can have directed at you. Aqualad's the leader, I accept this because I have no intention of becoming a leader of anything ever again, in five or six years if the team still existed and Kaldur decided to step down, I'll gladly give the job to Robin. Hopefully by then we'll have more team members and one of them would be more qualified and less annoying. But until the day Kaldur breaks a wine bottle over Robin's head I'm not going to sit back and let him tell me what to do.

Without bothering to covey my thoughts over to Freckles, I edged over to the very side of the car and rolled, coming up kneeling beside the Boy Wonder. Luckily Pirate was so focused of torturing the civilians he didn't notice me.

Robin glared at me in annoyance before turning back to his wrist computer.

I cleared my throat.

He ignored me.

"Dude, what're you doing? We need to do something!" I exclaimed, glancing back and forth from Robin and the civilians still trapped in their nightmares.

Robin sighed, a pompous, condensending 'why do I have to put up with her?' sigh and said "Pycho Pirate is a mental vampire, he puts people into trances depicting their worst nightmares and then feeds on their raw emotion. Unless you'd like to have your worst fears come to life right in front of your eyes I suggest you pipe down and let me figure out a way to interfere with the telepathic connection keeping the citizens under his control."

I sniffed indignantly. _Pipe down? What am I, a five-year-old_

"Can't we just shock him out of it? You know, like you guys did with Megan when that training execise went wrong?"

Robin stiffened. "Who told you about that?"

"Arty and Freckles, why?"

He shook his head dismissively. "Nothing, it's nothing..."

I frowned, it clearly wasn't nothing, but I decided to let it go.

"But the people...they need help now!"

"I know, Commando, I'm trying..."

"You're sitting on your ass doing nothing!"

His eyes flashed behind the mask "I wouldn't expect you to understand what a complex and efficient plan is, Commando, you think that if you can't point a gun at something it doesn't exist. Heroes can't think like that, it would get innocent people killed."

That little comment pissed me off for two reasons. One: he was suggesting that I was stupid, and Two: the way he talked about heroes, like I wasn't. I'm no angel, I get that, but I'm not a villain. I never was.

You should know by now that when someone insults me my give-a-shit flys clear out the window, and I end up doing something extremely dumb, which is exactly what happened this time.

Angry, I leaped to my feet and snarled. "well, you can sit here _planning _all you like, I'm going to get something_ done."_

Robin made a wild grab for my cloak, but his fingers just missed the end of the deep red material. I knelt behind a trash can, about five feet away from Pirate. His back was to me and he was to wrapped up in laughing triumphantly at his traumatized victims to notice that gun-toting teenager creeping up on him.

I drew my pistols and took a deep breath. I was going to launch myself at Pirate, scare him into breaking his hold on the people, and subdue him with a shocker bullet. Not the best plan, but I couldn't stand to look at the people's frightened expressions anymore.

The muscles in my legs tensed, I crouched like a tiger, ready to spring. I locked my eyes on my target and steadied my breath. Every viber of my being was alert, I had to show Robin that no one disses The Commando and gets away with it.

I used my legs to propel my body into the air, guns at the ready. My body sailed through the air with ease, I felt like a flying squirrel with my limbs outstretched and my cloak billowing behind me. Right before I connected with Pirate, my cloak snagged on something and dragged me to the ground like an anchor.

My face smacked against the street, probably leaving a nice-sized bruise on my nose and splitting my lip open. I tried to stand, but something heavy pinned me to the street. Remembering a move Canary showed me, I twisted my body until I was free of my restraints. I flipped over on my stomach so I could see what had interrupted my assault.

My mouth fell open. It was a boy. A younger kid, with black hair and golden irises.

Yeah, that's right. The boy was Sammy.

"Phoenix?" I croaked, using the kid's codename. "Wha...? What's wrong with you?"

As soon as I laid eyes on him in the arcade, I thought something was up. But now I was sure, someone had messed with Sammy. The boy's hair was lying flatter against his head, like he'd been neglecting it. His skin was paler than usual, I could see every single blue vein crisscrossing under his skin. But his eyes were the real giveaway. Yes, they were still a beautiful shade of hazel, but instead of gold they resembled bronze. They were dull, lifeless, like the spirit that used to animate the boy's eyes had been sucked away.

"Sammy?" I tried again. "Sam? Are you alright?"

For a response, Sammy slammed my wrists against the pavement under me until I let go of my guns. He snatched them up, before expertly changing the ammo to real, legit, bullets and aiming them at my head.

I froze, too shocked to do anything except gape uncomprehendingly at Sammy. The emotionless mask had fallen from his face, to be replaced by barely congained anger and hatred. A kid so young shouldn't be so angry, especially if the kid is Sammy Ridder, one of the happiest kids I know.

"Shut up!" he snapped. "Just shut up, Commando!"

"Buddy, it's me, remember? Commando? Your friend?"

"I know who you are." he rammed the barrel of my gun into my forehead. "And you're no friend of mine."

"I don't understand..."

"You! You filled our heads with false promises! You made us think that Luthor was our enemy! You sent us into battle, knowing full well we could be killed! We were expendable to you, just people you used to do your dirty work!"

I frowned, forcing myself to stay calm.

"Really, Sammy? Because that's not how I remember it..."

Sammy just glared.

"I remember charging into fights alongside you, I remember telling you that our life wasn't glamorous, but it was a hell of a lot better than being on your own. I remember all the sleepless nights I spent worrying about you all, I remember feeling physically sick every time one of you got so much as a scratch because I knew that I hadn't been able to protect you. I remember waking up after the superhero's kids had rescued me feeliing every single scratch and bruise I got at the hands of that man or one of his lackeys. I'm not the enemy here, Sammy. Please...let me help you."

The hand holding the gun shook violently. "Lies! You're a traitor! You're...!"

"Traitor? Was I a traitor when I took you in, no questions asked. Was I a traitor when I tended to your wounds and fed you, before I even tried to ask you anything? Was I a traitor when I listened to your fears and concerns and comforted you? How about when I trained you, so you never had to be scared of anything ever again? The only traitor here is you, Sammy, and I know it isn't your fault. Just tell me what happened..."

Sweat beaded on Sammy's forehead, he looked like he was being pulled eight different ways by his loyalties. He still had good memories of me, but something...someone...was manipulating him. He needed my help, but I wasn't sure what I could do for him.

"Give me the guns, Sammy." I said, offering out a hand.

Sammy frowned.

I opened my mouth to repeat the question, and Sammy took the opportunity to ram the gun down my throat. My eyes bulged, the barrel cut open the back of my throat. The metallic flavor of my own blood mixed with the cool taste of the gun. I couldn't breath, I twisted my head, looking for Rob and KF. They were busy fending off hypnotized policemen. They couldn't hurt them, but they couldn't let themselves be shot either.

I was on my own.

"That's enough..." A voice chided.

Sammy dissappeared, to be replaced with Pycho Pirate's menacing face.

I scowled defiantly. "What did you do to him?"

Pirate chuckled, as if he was amused.

"Why, child. We simply helped him see the Light..."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Another chuckle.

"You are brave, but also cumpulsive. You are strong, but you have deep-rooted hatred inside your heart. Tell me, Commando, what makes you tick...?"

The world faded to black, and instantly I was thrown backwards eight years in the past, to the day I ran away from home.

I practically scoffed. So he was showing me this day again? So what? I've been reliving this night on my dreams for years...

Except something was different. Before my dreams had been out-of-body experiences, I could see and hear myself in the dream. I was an outsider looking in, but now it was almost as if I was five years old again. I flexed and felt my tiny kindergarten muscles strain on my bones. I made a noise in the back of my throat and it came out as a childlike squeak. I looked at my hands and balled them into fists, my hands were little and dainty. It was hard to believe that I had ever been that small.

I blinked, there was no way this was real. But everything I saw, felt, and smelled was exactly like the same as it was the day I finally escaped the demonic presence that is my mother. I was standing just outside my bedroom door. I knew what would happen next, I'd walk to my little bro and sis's room just down the hall from mine and cradle both kids in my lap. Then mom would finish arguing with dad, he'd leave, and she'd find me in the 'good kid's' room and...

I shook my head. No...I wasn't going to play along with Pycho Pirate's little game. I would just stand rigthe here until KF and Robbie found out how to snap me out if my trance.

I smiled. Heh. I called him Robbie and he's not even here to get mad about it. I wonder if he noticed when I'd stopped calling him Robbie for awhile. I don't know...after I had that talk with my mother I suppose I felt a little emotionally drained. Like she'd sucked the life right out of me. I was mad at myself for letting her influence my life, even in a seemingly small way.

"it's not my fault.." I said aloud, glancing at a picture of my siblings on the wall.

No, it wasn't my fault I had a cold, calculating, bitch for a mother, it wasn't my fault I had a cruel manipulating murderer for a father...

But I had abandoned my siblings, did that make me any better than my stepdad? I told myself that they'd be fine because my mom loved them and not me, but the affection they received was mostly fake. Another elaborate plot to hurt me. What if one of them became the new bitch of the family? What if mom lied and there was more than one reason my siblings were taken away from her? I wouldn't put it past her...

I realized my mistake too late. Pirate didn't know what my greateat fears were, because I've gotten good at burying that sort of shit _deep_, so he dumped me in the center of my own personal hell and let me stew in my own juices, knowing that I'd bring those carefully hidden emotions to the surface on my own.

The scene around my changed drastically, I was once again a helpless observer. A meaningless fly on the wall. My mother appeared before me, with my little siblings on either side of her. Each kid looked exactly as I remembered them, even though I knew they would look much different by now. Ty's face and hair was sleek with sweat, he was pale and had bloodshot eyes. He laid on the floor wearing nothing but a dirty diaper and a thin sheet of mud and blood. He was sobbing so loud...I wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold him.

My little sister wasn't much better. Her beautiful raven-colored hair was matted and dirty, her Hello Kitty pajamas were ripped and covered in stains. Blood soaked through her shirt and covered the front of her chest. She was crying, but it wasn't normal little kid crying, it was more like animalistic cries of pain.

My mother changed appearance too. Her arms elongated and grew wings, her black hair fell out in clumps. Her face slanted sharply into a long snout, she grew scales in the place of her clothing. Her scaly mouth opened, revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.

My mother has turned into a dragon.

I stepped back, suddenly feeling like the five year old child I appeared to be moments earlier.

Her slimy green head waves back and forth, giant pink snake tongue flickering in and out of her mouth. Suddenly she stopped, sniffed the air, and looked right at me. At first I thought I was safe, I was invisible, a fly on the wall. But then something shoved me from behind, and I fell forward, landing on my hands and knees directly in front of the beast. I looked down, I was back in my little girl form. I was wearing Scooby-Doo pajamas, because even back then I was not a fan of girly things.

I scrambled madly to my feet, eying my dragon-mother warily. She threw back her head and laughed, which was pretty surreal considering she was reptillian. She turned her attention away from me to my siblings who still lay crying at her feet. She glanced at me briefly, grinned, (again, no idea how she pulled it off) and parted her jaws. I didn't understand what she was doing until a blast of fire erupted from her mouth, engulfing my siblings in a firy tornado.

The crying grew louder, the air grew hot and thick with smoke. I wanted to rush over to them, but the heat was so intense I had to keep my distance. After a moment the flames died down and two figures stepped out of the ashes: my siblings' skeletons.

They raced after me with surprising speed, bare bones knocking against each other with a wet clacking sound. I knew they were supposed to be my baby bro and sis, but just looking at their sickeningly white skeletons up and moving around made me want to puke.

I turned and ran, but no matter how fast I pumped my legs I couldn't make any progress. The skeletons tackled me to the ground with triumphant laughs. Bony elbows and knees dug into my ribcage, bruising the sensative skin there. They put their gaping holes that passed for mouths next to my ears and spoke, a sound that was similar to an old man gargling broken glass.

"Why'd you leave us, Commando?" They cried in unison.

"Why didn't you save us?"

I twisted back and forth in an effort to escape but their vice-like grip on my ankles and wrists didn't lessen. They growled and drew swords made of bone from god-knows-where and pressed them against my throat. I could feel the sharp edge dig into my skin and cause a trickle of crimson blood running down my neck.

I squeezed my eyes shut. This wasn't real, it couldn't be real...but I could feel the pain of the sword against my windpipe, I could smell the tangy aroma of my own blood in the air, I could see the skeltons' creepy grins as they stood over me. Each and every one of my senses told me it was real, that I really was about to die...

I woke up screaming.

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><p>Hey, guys! The illusion the chapter is based off of a nightmare I had once, except I tweaked a few things in order for it to fit.<p>

Paigeroks09 drew a pic of Commando, Link is on her profile:D check it out if you want! LiveLongMusic20 is also working on pictures. Na'viWolf, you can go on ahead and start drawing too! :D LOVE YA GUYS!

okay, guys, repeat after me "no ship is better than any other ship" get it? Got it? Good, moving on.

Random: during Homeront we see Cheshire running away from home. Am I the only one who finds it strange that it's the middle of the night but both beds are made and neither girl is wearing pajamas?

P.s: Supermartian and Spitfire shippers, why are you guys even fighting? YOUR SHIPS DON'T INTERFERE WITH EACH OTHER!


	32. Wide Awake

Hi guys! Read and Review!

Do it!

NOW!

I wasn't gonna post this because not a whole lot of people reviewed the last chapter, but hey, I looked at my hits so I know you guys were reading, so..here ya go:D

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><p>I wasn't scared.<p>

I was annoyed.

I was frustrated.

But I wasn't scared, not for her.

If it had been Wally you was put under Pirate's spell it'd be a different story. If it had been him I'd be freaking out right now. If it had been him or Kaldur or Conner, I'd be an emotional mess. If it was Artemis or Megan I'd be completely beside myself.

But it wasn't.

So I didn't care.

As much.

Nope.

As soon as the last hypnotized civillian hit the dirt, we raced to her side. Her body lay sprawled out in the middle of the stret. Her face was pale and I could see her eyes flicker back and forth under her closed lids as she dreamed.

"Commando?" Wally knelt and gently slapped her cheeks in an effort to wake her.

"That's not gonna work!" I snapped.

"I can't hit her any harder without hurting her!"

I sat back on my heels and looked around, the hypnotized civillains were starting to wake up as Pirate's spell wore of, but Commando was still trapped on her nightmare-filled coma. Pirate and his henchmen were gone, having slipped away while we were occupied.

Suddenly, Commando bucked under Wally's touch as if his skin was covered with acid. She starting twisting and thrashing in her sleep, trying to get away from whatever terrors were haunting her dream. Her face was twisted up in a mixture of fear and pain. I'd never seen her look so helpless.

"We need to get her back to the Cave..." Wally announced, glancing up at me.

"Go." I told him. "You can get their much faster by yourself, I'll be along."

He nodded, carefully gathering Commando up in his arms before speeding off, kicking up clouds of dirt as he went.

I stood, eyes scanning the area to make sure everything was okay. I saw Commando's guns lying forlornly on the curb. Without thinking I bent over and scooped them up, Commando had a weird personal connection with her guns, I knew she'd freak if she lost them.

I sprinted down the street, dodging pedistrians and turning corners. I located the alley with a hidden zeta tube disguised as a phone booth and used it to transport myself to the Cave.

I didn't see anyone at first, so I hurried to the med lab, figuring that Wally would immediately take her there so someone could help her.

I burst into the room, trying to take in the whole scene at once. Commando lay on one of the cots, writhing around and whimpering pathetically. Canary, Batman, and Martian Manhunter stood by, quietly conversing, every now and then one of them would gesture to Commando. Megan had the girl's head in her hands, the Martian's eyes were closed in concentration. Artemis and Wally stood off to the right of them, Wally glaring at Artemis whole she continued to chew him out. Conner stood by Megan, watching Commando with intense eyes. Kaldur was the only one who seemed to be keeping his cool, so he was the one I approached.

"What's going on?"

"It seems that both Miss Martian and her uncle are unable to snap Jill out of her coma."

I bit my lip. "What'll happen if they can't wake her up."

This time, Aqualad didn't answer me.

A shrill scream drew my attention back to Commando. At first I didn't know who had yelled, but then Commando stretched her mouth open and let out another shout. Clearly, the nightmare was getting worse. She thrashed away from Megan and nearly hurled herself of the bed. Wally and Conner held her down so she wouldn't end up hurting herself, but I could see the panic etched across her face. The kid was terrified.

We needed to wake her up, and we needed to wake her up _now_.

I wracked my brain for a solution, what had I been working on before Commando interrupted me? Oh, yes...I had a theory that we could probably awaken the civilians with a quick sonic blast. Only problem was that it could possibly damage the people's hearing, but I was working on a solution for that. If Commando hadn't been so impatient I probably could've found one.

I still had my equipment, but there was still the threat of deafening her. Of course if we could find something, or _someone_, who could emit a sonic blasts at a lower frequency...

I raced over to the trio of Leagures and told them my idea. Black Canary raised an eyebrow at me doubtfully, but Batman and J'onn were nodding thoughtfully.

"Yes..that could work.." Batman muttered. "Black Canary?"

"I guess I could tone down my Canary Cry so I didn't burst her eardrums..." She said. "But I don't want to be responsible for deafening the kid, either."

"You gotta try!" I scowled.

Canary gave me a funny look, but she walked over to Commando anyway. The girl was openly screaming now, a sound that was almost un-human. Wally and Conner moved over so Canary could access her head, she grasped Commando's head in her hands and let out a small, shrill, Canary cry right at Commando's ear canal.

Commando's eyes snapped open, and her screaming died in her throat. She thrashed herself off the bed, cradling her head in her hands and moaning. She turned over and glared at us accusingly, annoyance clearly written on her face.

"Owww..." She groaned. "What the heck was THAT for? Are you guys _trying_ to make me go deaf?"

"She's fine..." I rolled my eyes.

"Let's just make sure." Batman grabbed her arm and led her back tobed. She sat down, massaging her ears. Batman brought out a device that resembled a pair of earmuffs and slipped it over her ears. Batman told Commando to raise her hand every time she heard a ring, it was the same hearing exam they use administer in schools.

After the test was over and Batman told her that her hearing was undamaged, Commando started talking to us about what she experienced.

"I'm fine, really." she said as she accepted a cup of coffee from Wally. "It was just a nightmare, no big."

"Commando." Kaldur frowned. "We all saw the look on your face, it was clearly a big deal."

A blush crept into her cheeks. In an attempt to change the subject she looked at Batman and said "You got a mission for us, Bats?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The League was on a mission, right? The only reason you'd come to the Cave now is if you had an assignment." She said hopefully.

Batman shook his head. "We were already in the Watchtower discussing the mission when we received Wally's call."

Commando swore under her breath.

"Nice try." Canary smiled.

Commando slid off the bed and made a beeline for the door. Kid Flash intercepted her before she even made it half way across the room.

"Another nice try." He said.

"Damn, Freckles, you're killing me!" She whispered as she was led back to the bed.

"What was the nightmare about?" Megan asked.

"It was..." She sighed. "The day I ran away, at least...it started out that way but then my twisted imaganation took over and..." She shrugged.

"And what?" Conner demanded.

"Doesn't matter." she said bluntly. "But there is something I wanna discuss."

"What?" Artemis asked.

"Before I was...hypnotized, I saw a friend of mine, Sammy."

"Yeah." I spat. "You saw him betray you."

I remembered glancing over and seeing Sammy shoving the barrel of his gun down her throat, it was obvious she was in pain, why'd she want to talk about him now? Or ever again?

"He was being controlled, Rob." She scowled. "He didn't know what he was doing."

"You just can't accept the fact that one of your little friends turned bad." I sniffed.

"You're absolutely right." She growled. "I _can't_."

There was an awkward pause, but then Commando looked away from me and continued talking.

"Did you see Sammy when you, uh, picked me up off the sheet?" She asked, pointingly directing the question at Wally.

"No." he answered. "Rob?"

I shook my head, although Commando didn't seem to care what I had to say.

"We need to go after him." she proposed, getting to the point quicker than she usually does.

"No..." Batman interrupted. "I understand your concern for your friend, but you are not to pursue this."

I rolled my eyes. With Commando's logic, that translates into 'I am absolutely supposed to pursue this, woo-hoo!'

Commando frowned. "C'mon, Bats, I need to protect Sammy. You promised me you would, but apparently that didn't fit into your busy schedule, right?"

Everyone sucked in their breath, Batman narrowed his eyes.

"I do not tolerate disrespect, Commando."

"I'm not trying to be disrespectful! It's just...I trusted you." the hurt in her voice was clearly evident to everyone in the room.

"I trusted you, and you let me down..."

Batman sighed. "Commando, we have been checking up on the children regularly. I don't know how this happened, but it will not happen again."

Commando frowned doubtfully, but didn't press the issue further. Instead, she switched the topic back to Sammy.

"We still need to find him! What if they hurt him? What if..." she shook her head.

"We cannot devote all our resources to tracking down one boy, Commando."

Commando suddenly grinned. "We don't need to."

Batman raised an eyebrow, which is hard to do with a mask on, and said "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Allow me to propose something..."

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><p>Another chapter done! Hope you liked!<p>

Random: Aqualad is super good at subtle investigation:P watch Homefront, you'll see what I mean.

Hey, guys, I was watching a clip from this years comicon, and one of the YJ producers was wearing a 'Hello, Megan' T-shirt; and he said that it was a spoiler. You know, that her catchphrase is a hint to what's going on with her. This made me more suspicious of her (what's going on with her, huh? Huh!) and it really, really confused me... I have a sneaking suspicion the dude's just messing with us, like right now he's sitting on his butt laughing at all the poor confused fans. Although, it could be one of those things that later on we'll be all like 'I get it now!:D' any theories? Cause I have no idea.

Knowing that her catchphrase actually means something makes it a lot less annoying.


	33. Ego

New chapter time! Yay!

theres a linebreak in the middle of the chapter, so don't go 'aw, its over, when you see it.':)

_**Commando's POV.**_

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><p>My smile twisted up into a grin as I examined myself in the mirror.<p>

I was wearing a full-body black jumpsuit with a red-X over the left pectoral muscle. I had an ash gray utility belt looped around my waist and a mashing cape with a black underside on my back. I had ebony-colored boots with steel soles, my gloves were also grey with red-X's on the palms and the back of the hands. In my hands I had a mask that resembled a skull with the bottom jaw missing on a black full-face cowl. The skull had a red-X in the middle of the forehead, with the bottom left point of the X ending just below the eye, the eyes were made of white reflective lenses to hide my eye color.

I'm not even gonna lie, wearing the suit made me feel like a major badass.

Once I smoothed the cape out and adjusted my gloves, I walked out into the living room where my teammates were waiting to see the new digs.

Their reactions were awesome, I thought their eyes were going to pop right out if their skulls, Robin especially.

I smirked at him. "Pick your tongue up off the floor, Bird Boy, it'll get dirty."

He responded with a glare, but I was too hyped to really care.

"Looks good." Wally agreed. "What can it do?"

Batman answered for me. "The suit is powered by a Xenothium power core housed in the belt. While wearing it your strength, stamina, speed, and agility are significantly increased. The suit is also fitted with a cloaking/invisibility device, remember: invisibility does _not_ mean undetectable."

"I know...I know.." I fingered the mask in my hands.

"The suit also has a teleportation device and a tracker, in case you run into trouble."

"Okay, I get the teleportation thing, buy why do I need a tracker?"

"If it were up to me it'd be imbedded in your skull." Canary teased.

"Listen up, Commando, this information could save your life." Batman scolded before continuing with the run-down of the suit.

"The palms of your gloves can form X-shaped manifestations that can act as shuriken, wrist-mounted blades, constriction and adhesion restraints, electric shocks, and timed explosives. Although I'm sure you will be able to come up with many more uses."

"Yeah..." I grinned.

"But the suit does have a drawback, every once in awhile you must charge the battery. If you let it die, there are no replacements."

"And it's really difficult to dispose of the core safely, so please save us the headache." Canary added.

"How long does the charge last?" I asked.

"A few hours, just make sure you watch the gauge." Batman reached over and flipped pushed a button on my glove, and it displayed a bright red 100% in a hologram above my head.

"Sweet." I grinned. "Anything else I need to know?"

"Yes.." Batman clamped a hand on my shoulder. "Just because I agreed to let you use the suit, doesn't mean you don't have a responsibility to the team. If you receive a call while your moonlighting as..."

"Red X." I smirked.

"Super imaginative." Wally laughed.

"How about you shut up before I test out some of these weopons on you, carrot-top." I retorted.

"_Anyways_..." Batman interrupted. "If I call you, I expect you to drop whatever your doing and get over here."

"I understand...I understand." I nodded.

"How'd you even know about the suit?" Conner asked.

I felt my ears turn pink. "Well..um...I...you know what, I'm not even gonna lie this time. I broke into Star Labs one time and I saw some blueprints for Red X's tech. Not my fault I have a photographic memory."

"More like _selective_ memory." Artemis laughed.

"And selective _hearing_." Kaldur chimed in.

"Alright!" I snapped. "Are we gonna showcase my new alter ego are we gonna sit around and chat all day? Jeez, what is this, 'Let's all pick on Commando' Day?"

"No, of course not!" Robin stood, walking toward the Bioship.

"That's everyday..."

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><p>I forced my breath to stabilize as I crept across the tiled flooring, I didn't want Batman to think that I was having a heart attack. I pressed a hidden button of the side of my mask, switching to infrared vision. There was a grid of lasers crisscrossing in front of the rows of jewelry cases.<p>

I scoffed, so easy. I get a super cool high tech stealth suit, and the best they can throw at me is a _laser grid?_

Slightly dissappointed, I pulled a bit of reflective metal out of my belt and positioned it in front of the beam so the grid parted like a silk curtain. After a quick sweep of the room to check for security cameras, I stepped forward and touched my hands to the glass case protecting the expensive jewelry, the sensative palms of my gloves didn't set off the alarms, so I was able to reach under the case and deactivate it. All I had to do was pull one little pink wire.

I sighed in fristration. Really? This was my big showcase? _Bor-ring_. I could do all this crap without the suit.

I pulled a laser from my pocket and turned it on, in a second it had eaten away the glass and I was reaching for the diamond rings resting on the decorative red pillow. Now the team would show up and we'd tangle and blah-blah-blah...

"Freeze!" The expected call came, but there was something wrong...

I didn't recognize the voice.

Confused, I turned slightly so I could see the speaker.

It was a man. He was tall and lanky, wearing what appeared to be a red, yellow, and black rubber leotard-like thing on his lithe frame. I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep from laughing, it was Plastic Man. He was Max's favorite superhero, but I always thought the costume was bit much. Granted, I really couldn't talk considering I was dressed like a slasher from some cheap horror movie.

"Drop the jewelry and no one gets hurt." He demanded.

I rolled my eyes. Sure, Flash had been commanding, but this guy was a bit bossy-and frankly, he was starting to tick me off.

Before I could lose my temper and do something stupid I casually moved my free hand to my head, pretending to simply be scratching an itch, and activated my communicator.

"Bats..." I whispered. "We got a little problem..."

"I know." Batman sounded annoyed. "I told O'Brian to stay away. I couldn't give details without blowing your cover. I'm sorry, take off your mask and show him who you are. I'm sure I can cover up the crime scene and.."

"No..." I grinned. "Tell the team to stay back, I think I can make this work for me..."

"What? No! Don't you dare..." With a quick tap of my finger I cut Batman off and stared at my new opponent.

"I'll say it again, _drop it._"

"Nah, I don't think I will." my voice sounded deep and masculine, a result of a voice scrambler in the mask. My tone was light and care-free, even _I_ was surprised at how cocky I sounded.

With my hand full of rings, I looked around for a way to subdue the Leaguer. I tried to remember what I heard about Plastic Man from the team and what I've seen from watching the dude fight on the news. The man is pretty much made of rubber, right? Rubber gets runny when it's hot, but unless I can locate the thermostat I won't be able to swing that. I suppose I could use my lasers, but that'd probably kill him. And I highly doubt Bats would approve of me slicing a hero in half, although some certain members of the League have claimed that Plastic Man is the most annoying ***_CENSOR_*** on the planet, so you never know.

Heat is out of the question, so what about cold?

I grinned, yeah...that could work. He'd wouldn't be able to stretch or he'd shatter, hopefully he'll be smart enough not to try. Worst come worst he breaks an arm, but that'll be his stupid fault, not mine.

I turned my attention back to Plastic Man.

"If you want the rings so bad, come get 'em." I said, laying the arrogance on thick to intentionally agrivate the hero.

He charged at me, arm morphing into a hammer.

I feigned an attack, dodging to the left as he backtracked to block. I was now standing behind him, feeling proud of myself. Canary had helped me smooth out my moves, so anticipating Plastic Man's attacks wasn't as tough as it'd be if I was fresh off the streets.

But when the man's hands changed into fly-swatters and used them to slap me against the wall I wasn't feeling so cool anymore.

My head connected with the wall, absorbing the brunt of the blow and making my head swim. I groaned, sinking to the ground like a broken puppet.

_Jeez...what the heck was that for?_ I winced, gingerly touching the growing bump on the back of my head.

I didn't know heroes wern't above hitting girls, eh, maybe the Flash had spoiled me.

Plastic man approached me, "Game's over, Mr. X..." he smirked.

Mr? Oh, riiiiight. You can't tell I'm a girl while I'm in the suit, Plastic Man probably doesn't even know Im a kid. Maybe he thinks I'm just short.

I never really thought about it, but my age and gender has probably saved my ass on multiple occasions. I wonder how many fights I won because the other person was unwilling to hit me. Probably not a lot, because I know a ton people who would kill you as soon as look at you, no matter what you look like...

Still, pretty big blow on my ego.

Once the stretchy hero saw I was still conscious, he raised his swatter-hand like he was going to squish me against the floor. Luckily, I regained my bearings enough to roll out of the way before his hand crashed dramatically into the ground.

I shivered. _That could've been me..._

Okay, how about we wrap this up before Commando gets killed, huh?

I scrambled to my feet, dodging Plastic Man's blows and retaliating with carefully-aimed X-blades. I didn't want to slice him open, but I did need to keep his attention and prevent him from catching me.

When I reached the end of the hallway, I stopped dead in my tracks and turned toward Plastic Man, an X-shuriken gripped tightly in my right hand.

"Giving up?" He asked, coming to a halt.

"Not a chance." I retorted, flinging a smoke bomb to the ground.

When the smoke cleared and I still hadn't moved, he laughed heartily. "What was that suppose to do?"

"Distract you.." I smiled, pulling a tiny tube from under my cape and sprayed down the hero, in a moment everything but his face was coated in ice.

"I also needed a moment to rewire that liquid nitrogen bomb so I could use it as a spritzer, didn't wanna miss that look on your face." I laughed, walking around the man and thowing up an X-portal.

"Later loser." I stepped through, coming out the other side on top of the very building I had just robbed. I tapped my chest and in an instant I was completely invisible. I put my hands in front of my face, and saw nothing but a slight change in lightning.

I grinned when I saw my team swarm the building, obviously Batman had told them of my little change in plans. A few minutes later they came back out with a shivering, sniffling, fuming Plastic Man. By that time, the press had shown up. Predictably, Plastic Man tore away from them and started ranting and raving about 'the X-guy,' while my team just stood there looking annoyed. Who could blame them? We had a plan and I just tore it all to hell. Still, alerting the media is what we wanted so they couldn't complain too much.

But I knew that wouldn't stop Robin, he stood there with a 'I'm-gonna-kill-her' look on his face. His arms were crossed and he kept his eyes fixated on the ground. My grin widened, his little birdie face was beet-red and scowling. I loved seeing the usually cool and collected boy get all frustrated, its hilarious.

I could feel Megan pressing at my mental walls, but I pushed her away. Thankfully, she didn't pry, and they along with Plastic Man and the media hounds left a few minutes later. I smirked, I knew that if I had my comm. on Batman would be giving me the Batglare over the line. Which is totally possible, by the way, even logic is afraid to defy the Bat.

Bored now, I turned off my cloaking device and turned slightly, to come face to face with someone's chest. Startled, I jumped back and withdrew an X-blade. I've learned that if someone scares you, an easy way to make yourself look less pathetic is by putting something scary and dangerous and pointing it at said scarer, (which may or may not be a word.)

Aware that I was a tad vertically challenged for the second time that night, I took a tiny step back. If I risked anything more, I was going to fall off the side of the building which would be a really sucky way to go. Plus, it'd be kind of funny. I've faced Lex Luthor, Joker, Harley, Pycho Pirate, and countless others and what does me in? Gravity.

The guy I bumped into was wearing something similar to a blue and white winter parka, he had two guns strapped to his belt: a little reminder of who I really am, and who he really is. He had a pair of infrared goggles in his hand, indicating he'd been watching me stand on the rooftop for awhile now.

I hoped I hadn't given away anything incriminating without realizing it.

Behind him stood two other men. One was wearing a costume that looked like it had been sewed together from random patches of other clothes, almost like a quilt. His hair was died pink and yellow. Yeah, yellow. I can't even call it blonde because, unlike Artemis's, his hair was a bright, brilliant shade of yellow that reminded me of a lemon. He had this goofy grin plastered on his face, like I was his very best friend.

The other guy was less open, wearing a blue costume adorned with little white check marks that I think were supposed to be boomerangs since he was holding one in his right hand. He examined me like I was a bug under a microscope, sizing me up, guessing my skills.

"Cold." I nodded to the first man. "Trickster, Boomerang." I greeted the others the same way.

"Hiya!" Trickster waved, but Boomerang only scowled.

_Alright, Trickster: good, Boomerang: bad._ I thought.

And by good, I mean safe. Sure, Trickster's nuts. But he's harmless. Boomerang and Cold on the other hand...well, they're the living embodiment of cliché villains, but I'm completely convinced that they could murder a child dressed up like a chainsaw maniac, i.e: Me.

"That was...Interesting." He said hesitantly, like he was unsure of whose side I was .

_Well, I'd hoped to start with someone a little higher up than the Rogues, but if I beat it now word will get around that Red X is a coward and I'll be back to square one, and I seriously doubt Batman will give me another experimental high-tech suit._

"It was just Plastic Man, he's no threat." I said, weighing each word carefully so I got the desired reaction from Cold. I always was a smooth-talker, add the creepy mask and a shuriken shaped like an X and you make me impossible to disagree with.

At least, that's what I hoped.

"I suppose so." he answered.

Silence.

_Okay..._ I thought, a bead of sweat forming on my temple.

_There are two ways I could take this: try to move the conversation forward myself or play the tough guy and brush him off, so he has to come after me..._

"Well, this has been fun but there's a stack of cash somewhere with my name on it..." I reached for an X-portal. I don't think they would know what I was doing anyway, but I figured I'd do whatever it took to keep the illusion going.

"That's your problem, kid." He said. "You think too small."

"Kid?" I scoffed with fake indignance.

Boomerang smirked. "I'm guessing your about thirteen, fourteen at the most. Unless of course your just short."

_Okay, if one more person refrences my height again tonight, heads are gonna roll_...

Outwardly, I shrugged.

_Gotta play it cool, so they know I'm a kid, so what? It's not like they'll ever find out I'm Commando. Heck, for all they know I'm just some boy with a flare for kleptomania. Besides, the Rogues have never been accused of being of above average intelligence, so I'm safe...for the moment._

"What? You afraid of being outshined by a younger generation, Grampa?" I scoffed.

_Hey, I'm pretty good at this..._ I smirked.

"Ooh, he got you good, Cold!" Trickster giggled.

Cold and Boomerang exchanged a 'why'd we do this to ourselves' look, before turning back to me like Trickster hadn't said anything.

"You're cocky, that'll get you killed out here." Boomerang narrowed his eyes at me.

"Ooh, pretty stars! Is that the big dipper?" Trickster craned his neck up to look at the sky.

This time none of us even looked in his direction.

"I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, no you don't."

_Oh, yes I do... _I thought to myself.

In fact, I probably knew better than they did. but there was no way in hell that I'd admit that openly. Not to these guys, not dressed like this.

"And you guys think I'll be better off with you losers?" I spat. "Yeah, right. You cant give me what I'm after, alright? So beat it!"

I turned, tensing my legs like I was going to jump off the building.

"Wanna bet?" he asked. "What're you after?"

Time to roll 'em in...

"Revenge." I balled my gloved hands into fists, turning back to them.

"Against who?"

I shook my head. "Some brat. Goes by Commando. I heard one of her old teammates went bad, I figured I'd find him and shake him down for info. But I seriously doubt he'll care, he did betray her after all."

The two men chuckled.

"What?"

"Boy, you don't know anything. Sure, you have potential, but you need to start thinking a little harder." Boomerang shook his head.

It took all my willpower not to launch myself at him. I was forced to settle for flashing my shuriken warningly.

If anything, this made him even more amused. His smile infuriated me, he kept grinning at me like I was a two-year-old. But I had to let it go, for the sake of my illusion.

"The kid's been...given a bit of an attitude adjustment." Boomerang smiled.

"They hypnotized him!" Trickster announced happily.

They glared, but I had to stop myself from turning cartwheels on the roof. I knew it! He's still my good ole' Sammy! Well...sort of. Take that, Robbie!

"Shit." I cursed aloud. "Now what am I gonna do...?"

"You could let a few old pros show you the ropes..." Cold smiled.

I rolled my eyes. First off, they're not 'old pros.' Old, yes. Pro, not so much. And second, they don't want to mentor me, they just want someone young and fit to do the jobs they're too lazy to do. Trust me, I know. Icicle Senior did it to me all the time when I was five.

"You for real?" I asked.

"You betcha!" Trickster beamed.

I considered it, I could trick them into thinking I was on their side. They knew what happened to Sammy, or at least they had some idea, and that's better than how I was doing before. And if I swing this right, I can deliver the Rogues to the League on a silver platter and rescue Sammy. I'll have my friend back, I'll earn some favor with the heroes, it's a win-win situation.

"Alright..." I nodded. "You got a deal."

"Perfect." Boomerang grinned.

"When can you start?"

"Umm..." I blinked three times, bringing up my energy gauge on the reflective glass of my mask.

10% remaining.

Shit! My eyes widened. Jeez, a few hours by fast.

9% remaining.

Bah! I gotta get back to the Cave...Sure, Bats is gonna kill me, but that's not the main concern right now!

"Sorry, I got an appointment." I withdrew an X-portal. "See you tomorrow. Same place, same time."

As my body dematerialized, I swore I head Cold mutter something along the lines of

"Watch yourself, you woundn't be the first apprentice we've fired..."

* * *

><p>Review! do it! do it now!<p>

Young Justice must come back!

'Like OMG, Robin and Zatanna are the best ship ever and all the other ships suck, Zatanna is such a better character than Starfire and Batgirl because they just suck!'-scary random fangirl.

Yeah, that happened. And we're letting it happen.

Hey, guys, did you here that their might be a law passed that censors the Internet? Just so we all understand, that would GET RID OF FANFICTION! WE MUST NOT LET THIS HAPPEN! REBEL! WE CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN! Ahdhjsjsjsjjrj!

Random: Why does Artemis need a stealth outfit? I mean, isn't she already wearing super dark colors already? If your gonna go that far, that why not stealth mode her bow and arrows too? they're like, bright green compared to the rest of her costume! Also in stealth mode: blonde hair, red costumes, bright blue capes, red hair, why am I the only whose bothered by this?


	34. Partnership

Heeeey, this is a new chapter! YOU WILL REVIEW IT FOR MEEEEE!'

:D :D :D

Robin's POV.

* * *

><p>I grinned triumphantly as Batman proceeded to chew Commando out. Sure, she's been in trouble before, but <em>this<em> was just perfect.

I don't know what was going through her head when she hang up on him, but she was definetly regretting it now. Her face was bright red, probably because Batman chose to yell at her while Canary and I were in the room. She kept her eyes firmly locked on her boots, her hands played with the skull mask that she carried.

"You deliberatly disobeyed me!" He narrowed his eyes and set his jaw, effectively giving Commando the 'Batglare.'

I watched one side of Commando's mouth try to smirk when she heard Batman unintentionally quote _The Lion King,_ and another part try to wince under his glower. The result making Commando look a bit like Two-Face.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

Commando muttered something under her breath.

"_What_ was that?"

Commando raised her head. "I said I don't get why your mad at me. The Rogues will lead me to Sammy, and then I'll lead you to the Rogues. If I'm lucky, I can also nab some of their associates while I'm at it. No matter what happens, we win. Do you know how many times I've wished that life could be that easy?"

"That's not the point..." Batman bristled.

"I didn't hurt Plastic Man, did I?"

"No..."

"Was the team injured because of the unexpected change of plans?"

"No..."

"Then I don't get it, what's the problem?"

"Jill, you're very brave, I'll give you that. But your problem is you think you can take on the world single-handedly. I'm afraid that one of these days you'll do something foolish..."

"I'm not stupid." She said, clearly making an effort not to sound disrespectful.

"You don't have to be stupid to be dumb, Jill." Canary jumped in. "Your stubborn, and you know it."

Commando just shrugged.

I frowned. What happened? There was yelling, mostly directed at Commando, and now we're _talking_? What's up with that?

"This was your idea, Commando, remember that. I allowed you to pursue this because I felt you deserved the chance to try, and the new tech needed testing anyway. But I'm not going to risk your safety for something that may be a lost cause..."

"No!" Commando interrupted frantically. "It's not a lost cause! It's not!"

I blinked at her, confused. What happened to the embarrased, frustrated Commando from minutes earlier? This girl was practically hysterical. She wouldn't, or couldn't, believe that Sammy couldn't be saved.

"Calm down." I said. "Your starting to freak me out."

"This isn't about you, Robbie!" she snapped.

Rage flared in my chest when I heard that stupid nickname. "My name is not Robbie!"

"Whatever!"

"Enough!" Batman interjected, and we both fell silent. It was true, Commando was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid.

"What do you suggest I do?" Commando said after a long, awkward, pause.

I glared at her, doesnt she know when it's time to shut up?

"I don't know, but clearly the solo act bit doesn't work for you. If we can't figure out something that does, we may have to consider our options..."

Commando's eyes widened when she heard the implication in his words. If we can't figure out something that works, Red X will be forced into retirement and Commando will have to give up Sammy for lost. Knowing her, she'd rather throw herself off a cliff than give up.

"Well..." She began, glancing at me briefly. "Maybe we could...Nah, that's probably a bad idea..."

"What?" I asked, extremely paranoid because of her look. "_What_?"

They all ignored me.

"No, it's alright, go on." Canary encouraged.

"Maybe I should take someone with me while I'm Red X. You know, to stay in the shadows and help out if things start to turn south. A partner."

Canary and Batman exchanged glances, and once again I felt left out of the conversation.

"The last proposition you had didn't end too well for you, Commando." I said, trying to rile her up just to break the tension.

Except this time she didn't get mad, she didn't even look my way.

"Who do you suggest?"

Commando blushed nine radical shades of crimson and stuttered. "Oh, um, I don't know. Just anyone would do, I suppose. It would have to be someone who could dissappear at any moment, and could sneak around without anyone seeing them and..."

"You mean, someone like Robin." Canary arched an eyebrow at her

Commando shrugged. "Maybe."

Whoa, Whoa, _Whoa_...How'd _I_ get dragged into this? And more importantly, why did Commando imply she wanted me to accompany her anywhere?

"That's rather...unlike you." Batman frowned.

"Are you feeling alright?" Canary asked,

"Aside from the bruises on my ribcage from being slammed against a wall, I'm peachy, why?" she frowned.

"No reason..." Canary assured, but she stared at the girl funny. "Robin, what do you say?"

Damn, I really hated being put on the spot. "Umm..."

Batman caught my eye, giving me a slight nod.

I blinked, for some reason Batman wanted me to do this.

"Sure." I said, forcing myself not to sound sarcastic. "Why not?"

"Sweet. So this okay with you, Bats?" she turned back to him.

Batman hesitated. "I suppose that'll be alright, but are you sure you...?"

"The battery should be charged by now, let's go!" She said a little too loudly, a sure sign she wanted to change the subject.

Without waiting for an answer, she dashed away into the corridors. I thought Batman was going to chase after her, but then his muscles relaxed. He had this brooding look on his face, and I knew he was deep in thought.

"Well, uh...I guess I better go." I stammered, turning slightly.

"Robin." Batman's voice made me freeze. "Watch her, something's definetly wrong with that girl. I don't know what, but.."

"Why?" I snapped back with hostility that surprised myself. "Because she's being nice to me? I don't think that's really..."

"No, Robin..." Batman soothed. "Her whole demeanor is off, surely you noticed it?"

I had, but I didn't want to admit that.

"I'll keep my eyes on her." I promised, making my way to the doorway.

* * *

><p>I sat perched on top of the building adjacent to Commando's. My body was concealed with a clocking device like the one found in Red X's costume. My breath came out in steady puffs of air, a little faster than what's considered normal since I had just spent half the night chasing after the Rogues and Commando.<p>

At first I was worried about the Rogues would try to commit a crime while Commando was with them and I'd have to blow her cover, but all they did was tramp around the city and visit various bars and hangouts. The most dangerous thing she encountered all night one time when someone offered her a drink, but she took care of that back dumping it in a plant while the guy wasn't looking.

This was supposed to be dangerous? I leaned back on my heels, frustrated. This was ridiculous, Commando didn't need a partner, she needed a freaking sledgehammer beat her brains in to relieve the boredom.

Commando and the Rogues left the bar, I duitfully stood as started following them. They kept to the shadows, so they were a little hard to track, but I managed alright.

The group approached a brightly lit building with drunken men and women stumbling in and out of the door: another bar.

With a groan, I started planning my way inside when then little band suddenly swerved. Panicked, I raced after them. Knowing they'd spot me if I followed their route, I ducked down a different alley which I guessed would lead me around them. The alley curved to the right and I came out standing in a T-shaped intersection.

Suddenly, a rock shot out of the darkness and hit me in the shin. The little interaction was followed by a deep voice growling. "-Too much noise, X.."

My eyes widened, the stone had been a warning!

I ducked behind a row of trash cans just in time. The group passed me, Red X/Commando was arguing with Captain Cold. I guess some of Commando's stubbornness traveled over into Red X.

"Where we headed anyway?" Commando asked, clearly a question that was more for my benefit than hers.

"Shut up and you might find out." Boomerang growled.

"Why's it so dark?" Trickter mused.

They entered the building after a bouncer in front cleared them, and I snuck around the back to find my own way in. Predictably, there was a locked door which took very little effort to pick.

_So freaking easy..._ I thought. _Was I really needed for this?_

I made my way through the dim building with ease, and not for the first time I wondered what it was. a bar? Another hideout? I didn't know.

I peered around a corner and saw Commando surrounded by the Rogues and various local mobsters. They were talking, having drink and basically just loafing around, confirming my suspicion that I was in another hangout.

Suddenly, the room grew quiet.

I arched my neck, trying to see better. Two big muscly guys, hired help, came were followed by Phycho Pirate and a boy with spiky black hair, Sammy Ridder.

Commando stiffened, I figured I knew what she was thinking.

_No, Commando..._I tried to beam thoughts into her head. _Not here, Not now.._.

I wouldn't put it past her to do something stupid if she thought for even a second that she could pull it off. Thankfully, her body seemed to respond to my silent begging and she relaxed. Maybe even she realized that if she tried anything here she'd be shot dead in an instant.

"Gentlemen..." Pirate greeted warmly, nodding to each man in turn. When he got to Commando, he halted. I was afraid that he would recognize her somehow, and I'd have to make a last-second rescue. My muscles tensed in preparation, ready to spring as soon as Pirate said the words...

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." He said, offering Commando his hand.

"Red X." her voice-scrambled voice rumbled, shaking it.

"You're a bit...small, aren't you?" He asked.

She tensed, probably trying to make herself look bigger.

But Pirate wasn't even looking at her anymore, all his attention was on Cold.

"Who's this guy?" he asked.

"A kid I'm mentoring." He smirked. "he's got potential, got a mouth on him though."

Pirate gave her another long look, shrugged, and turned away.

"And him?" Commando pointed at Sammy.

"Remember that annoying little upstart named Commando? He's one of her kids." Pitate laughed.

The man leaned forward to whisper in her ear, even with the comm. device in my ear that allowed me to hear everything she did I could barely make out the words.

"The kid's useful, he betrayed the brat without question. Although its rather hard to question anything when your under one of my special 24/7 illusions." he have her a quick pat on the back and pulled away.

I could tell that Commando was bristling with rage, but everyone else continued on with their conversations like nothing had happened. They moved to a long table and sat down, Commando's chair was a little ways off from the rest of the group, as was Sammy's, but she could still hear everything just fine.

"Well, boys." Pirate began. "Its almost time."

_Time? Time for what?_ I leaned forward, intrigued.

"The big leagues are almost ready..."

I wanted to scream in frustration. _Ready for what?_

"We need to be prepared..."

This is getting ridiculous. _Prepared for wha...?_

I felt dust fly up my nose, I rubbed it frantically and tried to fight off the urge to sneeze. When the sensation finally subsided, I let out a sigh of relief.

I guess it came out louder than I meant it to.

Strong hands closed down on my wrists and ankles, my body was hoisted into the air and my utility belt was pulled from my waist.

Furious, I twisted my body and caught a glimpse of Commando. She was facepalming herself and shaking her head. I couldn't blame her, I was supposed to protect her and I get myself captured. My brain whirred, trying to come up with a plan. Could I free myself without exposing Commando? I wasn't sure.

I was set down on my knees, my arms were forced behind my back and tied together with thick rope. Commando was slowly edging towards me, although her head kept snapping from me to Sammy and back again. I groaned, if I hadn't messed up Commando probably could've reached Sammy. There was no hope of that happening now, and now she had one more person to worry about.

"Well, well, well...what do we got here? A little birdie out past his bedtime?" Pirate chuckled.

I just scowled, earning a crippling blow to the stomach. A few laughs erupted from the other men, and I heard another guy say 'Kick him again!'

"Well, boys?" Pirate turned. "What should we do with him?"

The men started shouting out suggestions like a bunch of A-students trying to get to the top of the class.

"Torture!"

"Ransom!"

"Auction him off to the highest bidder! You know, earn a few bucks off of his hide!"

"Don't be stupid, just get rid of him."

"Kill him!"

The last one got the most positive feedback.

"Yeah, tie him up and dump him in a river!"

"Tie him to the train tracks and watch him get smashed!"

A lot of the new suggestions seemed to tie into the first guy's 'torture' idea, but everyone was too carried away to care.

"You're all morons..." Commando muttered, but no one but me seemed to hear her.

"Easy, guys." Pirate said, and everyone's voices died in their throats.

Psycho Pirate came up to me and used his boot to force my head up.

"Well, bird boy? What should we do with you?"

I growled at him, but said nothing.

Pirate shrugged, letting my head fall as he turned around.

"Know what, X? You're right, the other guys are morons."

My heart thudded in my chest, so he had heard her...

"We need to dispose of him, but torture is too messy, don't you think?"

Commando shuffled uneasily on her feet, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Well, I think so. You say you're new to the life, so let me help you out. Kill the boy and prove your loyalty to me." Pirate pulled a pistol out of his jacket and tossed it to her.

Commando caught it and fingered it in her hands, almost like she was mesmerized by the shiny metal device that had been given to her.

My heart was doing jumping jacks inside my ribcage, what was I going to do? Did Commando have a plan?

"What're you waiting for, boy? kill him!" Pirate urged.

Commando walked up to me, seemingly without hesitation, and pressed the barrel of the gun against my temple.

Confused, I turned my head a little so I could look at her face. The mask betrayed nothing, I expected a nod or some sort of sign that she had some kind of escape plan brewing in her head. It didn't appear that she was even trying to warn me.

She cocked the gun and let her finger hover over the trigger, a stab of fear chasing its way up my spine.

Commando wouldn't actually kill me, would she...? She was a troublemaker, sure, but the only thing she's ever had the heart to shoot were the Joker's hyenas, and a few days after it happened she told Wally that she still felt bad about it! If she could barely manage to hurt a bloodthirsty beast that was trying to claw out her intestines, how could she kill a teammate?

"Well...?" I rasped.

She didn't so much as flinch under my gaze.

No one spoke, a few of the guys were even holding their breath.

For that brief moment, the air stood still.

* * *

><p>Ha! CLIFFHANGER! Aren't I a jerk? Yeahhhh...:D<p>

Hey guys, February third, the new YJ episode comes out. I'm not sure what it's about, although there was a rumor that Robin was gonna leave the team. I say rumor because it was on WIKIPEDIA! You guys know that ANYONE can edit those, right? It's why my school won't let you use the site for projects, we still do, but we're not supposed to. Plus, come on guys, why would they get rid of Rob? He's like the only character people don't constantly bitch about. If it is true, then it'll probably be a one-episode kind of thing. Like he'll get mad at the team and go hang out with Batman or maybe he'll go on a patrol to blow off steam and get himself captured and the team will be all like "wheres Rob? We can't find him!" hence the title "Misplaced" more likely though, it was a troll trying to get the fandom worked up. One good thing about the rumor, it stopped the ship wars for awhile because everyone was freaking out over Robin.

But now it's calming down a bit so everyone can get back to what YJ is really about, arguing over fictional pairings. Because there's nothing else to the show except for the minor bits of romance, right? *warning, extreme use of sarcasm*

Okay, sorry if I seemed a bit harsh, but I just don't want anyone throwing tantrums over this.

Random: during Humanity the guy who created Red Tornado put him on a table and covered him up, and the whole time I'm like "Why was it necessary to put a blanket over a robot?" I mean, it's not like there was anybody there to invade his privacy, plus Tornado had been kidnapped so...why would he even care? Just saying, Tornado is kind of naked all the time anyway, so...yeah.


	35. Migraine

Hey hey hey, I love everything!:D

Review, please,

:D

Commando's POV

* * *

><p>I stood there, silent and motionless, with a gun pressed against the Boy Wonder's head. My finger expertly curled around the sensative trigger, slowly increasing the pressure to draw out the boy's untimely death for as long as possible...<p>

_No_! A little voice in my head screamed at top volume. I blinked, looking down at Robin. Confusion was etched all over his face, as I watched something new passed over his expression. It was an emotion that just didn't go together with Robin: Fear.

_That_ snapped me out of it.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog surrounding my brain.

_What...what happened? _

The last thing I remembered I was edging my way over to Sammy, and hearing Robin sneeze. I clearly remember the stab of annoyance I felt, what was that moronic little bird _thinking_? And then...everything got blurry.

It felt like I was in a dream. It was me: my body, my soul, but I couldn't really control what was happening. The next thing I know, I wake just in time to find myself holding a gun to Robin's head. Ready and willing to blow his brains out.

The room spun, I felt physically sick. What the hell was wrong with me? I've never killed anything larger than a mouse in my whole life! Except for the hyenas, but that was a life-and-death situation. But this was a person, and a teammate at that! He was Robin, the Batboy, Gotham's very own Boy Wonder, how could I even consider...? Oh, God...

Suddenly I remembered where I was and what everyone was expecting me to do. My heartbeat sped up, sweat beaded on my forehead. This is not good, not good _at all_.

_Okay, Mandy, calm down, but stay focused. Whatever took over me before...well, let's just not let that happen, again, okay?_

Could I just open fire in the warehouse? How many bullets did I have to work with? Nah, that won't work, they'd turn me into Swiss Cheese at the first sign on betrayel. Besides, Robin and Sammy would get caught in the crossfire. Could I pull this off without blowing my cover? Can I afford not too?

Okay, scratch that idea. Let's worry about one thing at a time, should I betray the Rogues? Villians betray each other all the time. Ever hear of Cheshire? She's tried to off her dad like...a million times. And yet she still gets jobs, then again she's a Shadow...

And then there's Sammy, I could've probably juat bopped him over the head and dragged him back to the Cave and let Batman figure out how to reverse the brainwashing, but now I have to worry about Robin...I have to rescue both boys, I can't blow my cover, I need to figure out why I almost shot the bird boy. Can't, Have to, Need...it was all so confusing.

"X..?" Cold asked, his voice laced with hostility and distrust.

That little syllable helped make my decision.

In a flash, I had Robin by the scruff of his neck and a explosive in my other hand, the gun was safely tucked in my waistband.

"This is what's gonna happen." I growled, watching the men draw their weapons.

"I'm gonna back out of here with Batboy, and none of you are gonna try and stop me. If you do, I push this little button right here and blow everything within a ten mile radius to bits." I gently tapped a little X-shaped button on the X-shaped bomb. Yeah, a lot of Xs, and Wally said my name wasn't creative!

Everyone took a step back, I cringed when Sammy's face appeared in the ground for a moment. I guess I'd have to worry about him later. It killed me, but I had to make an impossible choice between two lives, and I had to pick Robin. Sammy was fine, for the moment, but Robin was facing death.

The guys eyed up my hand, they knew if they shot me my hand would slip and incinerate them all. Okay, so the ten-mile-radius thing was a bit of an exaggeration, but hey, they didn't know that. And it doesn't pay to offer out that kind of information when you're acting on a really, really bad plan and pure, dumb luck.

"What's this about, X?" Boomerang growled.

"This brat is the Justice League's golden boy. Can you imagine what the bat would pay to get him back?" I laughed.I

That too, was an exaggeration. In reality, Batman would devise some ingenious plan to rescue his birdie and then pound his captor's face in. I always wondered why people even bothered kidnapping Robin, it never works out for them. Who in their right mine would willingly bring the bat's wrath down on them?

"Then why don't we hold him for ransom?" whined the man who suggested it in the first place.

"I plan too. But ya see, I don't like sharing.." I pulled back on Robin's neck and we started backing out of the warehouse.

We were half-way into the alley when I stopped and cut the ropes from Robin's hands. He ruefully rubbed his wrists, pouting cutely and casting his eyes toward me.

"So...thanks."

"No prob." I said, massaging my throbbing temple."But we...we better get out of here. The guys will be after us as soon as they figure out I was just bluffing."

He nodded in agreement, and we both took off down the alley. We took a different route than we used the last time, just in case they do follow. It wouldn't occur to them that we might not be going the same way, so it made us less likely to get caught.

My head pounded harder, I felt the energy drain out of my limbs and I was forced to slow down. I leaned up against the side of a building, panting hard. When Robin realized I wasn't with him, he doubled back and leaned over my bent form.

"What's wrong with you? We need to run!" He urged.

"I...I know. I just...my head." I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"Don't move or I'll blast you for real." A voice snarled, it's owner stepping out of the shadows.

"Sammy..." I breathed.

"That's me, normally I'd ask how you knew that, but you are one of my oldest friends, _Commando_."

"Crap..." Robin muttered.

My vision swam, it was happening again. I could feel my brain start to shut down, I could feel my limbs start moving on their own, reaching for the gun...

"Wake up!" I whispered frantically, pinching my arm and blinking rapidly.

Robin looked at me funny but said nothing, for which I was grateful because I wasn't sure I could talk even if I had too.

"So what's with the get-up? Halloween was over a long time ago, Mandy." his words were so hateful, so angry, that I could almost convince myself that I was looking at a complete stranger. Almost.

"I..." another wave of nausea hit me and I fell silent.

"And look, you brought your little boyfriend along." He glanced over at Robin.

Robin scowled and yelled something about not being my boyfriend, but I was so busy trying to control my own body that I couldn't concentrate.

I sucked in a big gulp of air and stood upright. "Leave him alone, Sammy. He's got nothing to do this."

Sammy turned and glared at me, I knew immediately that I had said the wrong thing.

"You're right, Mandy, he's got nothing to do with this. So let's get rid of him..." with that, he fired a bullet directly at Robin's chest. He gasped in pain, then crumbled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"No!" I shouted, kneeling beside the boy and turning him in his back.

I sighed with relief, it was a trick bullet. It was made out of some kind of plastic, so he bled, but the wound was not fatal. The bullet also shocked him, so his eyelids were closed and he was unable to help me fight off Sammy, and the backup he must have coming after him.

"Scared ya, didn't I?" He sneered.

"Sammy, buddy, put...put the gun down."

"Why? So you can arrest me?"

I scowled. "So I can help you, moron."

"I've had enough of your lies..." he leveled his gun with my head, prepared to shoot. He switched out the shockers with the plastic coating to real bullets, so of he pulled the trigger, I was a goner.

"Sammy!" I snapped. "Do you remember when you told me that it was okay to not want to talk about my nightmare? I remembered being amazed that a ten year old could say something so profound, and I still am. But now I do wanna talk about it..."

Sammy gave me a what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you look, but he said nothing.

"It was a recurring nightmare of the day I ran away from home. My childhood was...less than stellar. Long story short, my mom tossed me across a kitchen. I was so scKIared, and I knew that I never wanted anyone to feel as scared as I did, ever. That's why I took in kids without homes, to keep them safe and sound. At least with me I knew they would have a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. When I found you, I knew you needed help. I promised I protect you that day, and that offer didn't expire, Sammy, but I need you to help me out here. Put down the gun..."

Sammy's fingers slowly uncurled from around the gun, tears sat in the corners of his eyes, I knew that he was going to do as I said. I would take him to Batman and then he'd fix him and everything would be okay again...

Yeah, right, because my life always works out like that.

The truth? Sammy was about to drop the gun, but at the last moment Psycho Pirat stepped into the light and shouted. "Don't you dare!"

Sammy's eyes glazed over, his finger tightened around the trigger.

My shoulder exploded in pain, the force blew me off my feet. Crimson blood oozed out of the wound and soaked my shirt. I groaned, trying to stay conscious. Pitate's laugh echoed in my ears, "I'd kill you, but...I think itd be more enjoyable for me to let you lie here and die with Batboy..."

I glared as best I could and watched him take Sammy by the arm and lead him away.

I tried to reach for my communicator, but I was losing so much blood...I could feel myself start to slip away. I painstakingly turned my head to look at Robin, I reached out and dragged his body closer to mine.

I didn't know what was going through my head, maybe it was the mysterious force that nearly made me end his life, maybe it was the blood loss, or maybe I was just completely out of my mind. Whatever it was, it persuaded me to move closer to the boy and kiss him on his bruised and bloody lips. He lasted like almonds. That was my last coherent thought before I felt myself start to drift off again.

"Stupid..." Someone muttered, pulling my distress signal emitter off of my stomach. Somehow I had gotten it out of my belt. The person, whoever it was, fumbled around with it for a few seconds before a high-pitched whine filled the air.

Hands pressed agaist my shoulder wound, slowing the flow of blood.

"Who..? What...?" I croaked.

"Hush." the voice snapped harshly. "Save your strength."

My head felt like it was splitting open, but I recognized the voice.

"Avery?" I asked.

A pause, then a quick pinch in my left arm: A needle. My arms and legs felt heavier, she drugged me.

"Av...?" I mumbled.

"Hush! Your friends will be here soon. I'll be gone by then, but I'm not about to let you die from your own stupidity."

Yeah, that's Avery...

* * *

><p>REVIEW!<p>

Hi, I am sooo hyper right now! Cake!

Random: During Humanity when Zatanna points out the whole Phychic Conversation, was I the only one going 'no duh, Sherlock' I mean, come on! They're standing there awkwardly waving their hands wildly and changing expressions without saying anything for anybody for any extended amount of time, I think it's obvious! And then everyone looked so surprised! O_O


	36. Sneak Thief

Hey guys! New chapter! Hope you like!

Not a lot of action in this chapter, but I like it, and really that's all that matters:D

Robin's POV

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><p>"C'mon, Bats..." Commando whined. "Give me another chance!"<p>

We were in the med lab, propped up in seperate beds and a very angry bat standing over us.

"That _was_ your second chance, Commando." Batman frowned.

"Then give me a third chance, _please_!"

I rubbed my temples, ever since she woke up she's done nothing but bitch and moan about having another shot at hunting down Sammy. My head was already pounding, so she wasn't exactly putting me in the best of moods.

"Commando, he could have killed you..." Batman said, crossing his arms.

"But he didn't..." She slid off the bed and started walking toward the exit.

"But he _could_ have." Batman retorted, grabbing a hold of her wrist.

"But...he didn't."

"Are you two going to keep this up all day?" I groaned.

Batman and Commando shot me such identitical 'shut up, Rob' looks I nearly laughed. Commando has clearly been spending too much time with the Dark Knight if she's starting to remind me of him.

"Besides..." I heard Commando mutter. "It was all Robbie's fault..."

_"What?" _I snapped, leaping from my mattress and clamping a hand down on Commando's uninjured shoulder.

"All _my _fault?"

"Yes, Rob." She shook me off. "_Your_ fault. As in, I blame you.."

"What the heck did _I_ do?" I glared.

"Oh, I dunno. Need a tissue, Rob?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"That's so not fair!" I balled my hands into fists.

"And we were fine until you decided to take a time-out in the middle of freaking _nowhere!_ I got dust up my nose, what's your excuse?" I retorted.

To my surprise, Commando fell silent. She fixed her eyes on her socked feet and shuffled awkwardly on the marble floor.

"Um..." She blushed. "I...I don't."

"Wait...Commando, what exactly happened in the alley?" Batman cut in, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder.

Commando's blush deepened into a cherry red.

"Well, my head starting hurting and I felt nauseous. So I stopped, then Robin came back for me and my vision swam. Maybe Pirate was affecting me like he did Sammy?" She munbled, looking over at Batman.

Yeah, that's exactly how she said it, like a question. It was almost as if she wanted reassurance, but for what?

"Maybe...Did you reveal your identity to him?"

"No." She shook her head.

"How many times did you experience this?"

"Twice. Once in the warehouse and again in the alley."

"And this was before you betrayed the Rogues?"

"Yes.." She frowned, getting frustrated. "Could you please just tell me what happened?"

Batman's eyes were narrowed and focused. "Robin, please go grab the Red X belt."

I walked over to the examination table where the Red X gear was held, right before my hand closed around the fabric he added. "Be careful."

Slowly, I carried the belt over to Batman with both hands. He took it and popped open the battery pack, carefully removing the power core with a pair of Bat-tweezers. Commando looked a bit peeved at Batman testing apart her belt, but she said nothing.

Batman scanned the core with a handheld device from his belt and frowned. He looked worried.

"What? I didn't drain the battery, did I?" Commando asked, her paranoia getting the best of her.

"No." He said bluntly, dropping the core into a capsule and attaching it neatly to his utility belt.

"Then what's the problem?" Her voice came out as a squeak.

Surprised, I looked over at her with narrowed eyes. She seemed nervous and uncomfotable, what was she hiding? Something obviously happened in the alley, but what? Did she let Sammy go on purpose? I wouldn't put it past her, especially after what happened with Icicle Junior. But that still doesn't explain the blood...

"I'm sorry, I should've realized before..." He shook his head.

"Could you please stop with the vague, irrelevant comments and just _answer me_?" she whined.

He sighed. "The power core is a bit unstable. Not a problem unless you decided to smash it against the pavement like a firecracker. As you know, the core powers your suit, including the ability enhancement. It does this by tapping into your central nerve system. As a result, the core, how do I put it...warped your brain."

Her eyes bugged. "_What_?"

"Relax, you're not aftected unless you wear the suit. That explains your symptoms...Did anything else happen?"

"She almost killed me." The words came out of my mouth before I even had time to think about them.

Judging by the look Batman gave Commando, I guess I probably should've just kept my mouth shut.

"Excuse me, why wasn't this mentioned before?" he asked.

Commando looked at me, but she didn't look mad. She seemed almost...scared. She was asking me for help, _Me_.

"Well, uh...she stopped. She risked her life for mine..." my voice trailed off.

"It's alright, Commando, the power core obscures judgment. If you were given an order, you would follow through with it no matter much you may not want to. It must have taken a great deal of willpower to resist."

I expected Comamndo to smile at the praise, but instead she just got that nervous deer-in-headlights look about her eyes again.

"So..the core made me want to follow Pirate's orders, right?"

"Yes."

"What if you didn't get an order from someone? Would that mean you, uh, didn't really want to do something but you did anyway? Because of the Xenothium?"

Batman paused, and I expected him to say yes, but instead he shook his head.

"No, unless it was ordered you would only do it if you truly wanted to. Its like truth serum, brings out the truth, or in this case, exposes secret wants and desires. Did something happen?"

"Oh, no, no..." she shook her head frantically. "I was just curious."

I blinked at her. It's official, she's gone crazy.

"So...that's a no to the Sammy thing?" Commando smiled weakly.

Batman looked at her.

"Yeah, that's what I thought..." she sighed, shuffling off towards the kitchen.

I looked at Batman, he looked at me. We were both thinking the same thing: she gave up _way_ too easily.

"I'll lock down the zeta tubes." Batman said.

"I'll go make sure she doesn't try to escape through a window." I added.

As it turns out, both precautions were unnecessary. She didn't try to sneak out, but she was definitely up to something. Throughout the whole next week she could be found poring over archives on the Cave's computer or flipping through geographical maps. She was careful to erase the memory and hide her documents in a safe place, but occasionally I would catch her muttering a few words or phrases.

"Sammy...Avery? Can't find...Brazil...Gotta make a plan..."

I might be the Batman's protégé, but even I had absolutely no idea what was running through that twisted little mind of hers. But the weirdest part of the week was when I walked into the training area and saw Commando talking to Flash. Commando was using her hands a lot as she spoke, I couldn't make out the words, but she had that 'do as I say and the world will be forever traught' tone in her voice.

It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. Not because they were talking, but because Flash was actually _listening_. His eyebrows moved up and down under his mask, occasionally he would shrug his shoulders or shake his head. But for the most part he just nodded and smiled at whatever Commando was saying. The last time he and Commando had a conversation like that was probably the day she robbed the Central City bank. Sure, Flash has been to the Cave before and the two had exchanged a few words, mostly 'How's it going?' or 'Looks like rain,' stupid small talk that neither person remembered not cared about.

I suppose what really bothered me is that whatever Commando was saying, Flash seemed to be agreeing to.

I was sitting in the living room watching Wally inhale a packet of chocolate chip cookies when Batman's voice crackled over the intercom.

"Team, report to the Mission Room."

Commando leaped from her position on the floor where she'd been using Wolf as a pillow and watching The Flaming C on TV. She'd been creepily happy all day, but now she was practically bouncing.

"Come on, losers, let's go!" She turned a cartwheel and ducked down the nearby hallway.

I raised an eyebrow. Is she completly out of her mind, or just stuck halfway?

Commando's head popped back into the room.

"What're you waiting for? The others are waiting!" she exclaimed and she disappeared again.

Yeah, its probably the latter.

By the time Kid Flash and I joined the rest of the team and Batman in the Mission Room, Commando's mood had done a complete U-turn. Her arms were crossed, her eyes narrowed-making herself look mildly interested, but nothing more.

"Now that you're all here we can begin..." Batman rumbled, looking pointedly at us.

Wally grinned sheepishly, but I just shrugged. Right now, Batman's reprimand didn't concern me as much as Commando's odd behavior did.

"We've gotten reports of The League of Shadows setting up a base in the Amazon rainforest, somewhere near the Amazon river."

Something clicked in my head. The Amazon rainforest...is in Brazil, didn't Commando mention...? I looked over at her who flashed me a devilish grin.

_That sneaky, manipulative little_...I fumed in my head.

It all made sense, the research, the sneaking around, the conversation with Flash...she set all this up! The question is 'Why?' What did Commando have to gain from getting us a mission?

"Your mission is to locate it and find out what there planning."

"Who is...running the base?" Artemis asked, a nervous twinge in her voice.

"Don't worry, Arty, it's just ole' Ivory Bones, he's no problem. Normally, he doesn't run with the Shadows. But his wife did, so he probably figured he'd get respect if he charged in and threw his weight around a bit. Apparently, it worked." Commando replied without missing a beat.

Batman froze, and then slowly turned towards the girl.

"How did you know that?"

Commando paled, then turned bright pink, then paled again. "Um...I was talking to Flash the other day and he mentioned something about Bones and the Shadows' base, I figured that was what you were talking about..."

_Nice save_...I shook my head at her.

He nodded, I could tell he didn't totally believe her but he'd let it slide. At least until we got back.

"How's the shoulder?" He asked gruffly.

"Golden." She beamed, rolling her shoulders to demonstrate.

"Alright then." He gave her one long last look. "Go on, all of you..."

When we turned to leave Batman cleared his throat, making us stop.

"Commando..." He said. "When you get back, you and I are going to have a long, long talk about honesty."

Commando saluted him, probably ticking him off more, and raced out the door before Batman could say anything more.

I sighed, yup. She's crazy..

* * *

><p>Hehehehehehehhe:D I'm in a good mood...NO ONE RUIN IT! O_O<p>

Anyway, does anyone know what the new episode is gonna be about? Did they release the summary yet?

Random: how did Aquaman's wife know she was pregnant? Was there some sort of Atlantean pregnancy test? What? O_O

P.S: I really wanna see what the baby looks like. Although to be fair she can't be more that's 2-3 months in, according to the YJ 'calendar.' if there hadn't been all those hiatuses, it would be born already...


	37. Assassins

Hey, guys, suckiest. News. Ever. They changed the schedule, again, so YJ probably won't be back in February like I thought. Whats this mean exactly? Well...

A) I need to find a new site to get the YJ episode air dates (again)

B.) Thundercats probably won't be back either, so no thundercat family drama for me. ):

C.) the fandom will explode with anger over lack of YJ and take it out on each other.

Yeah, ship wars really suck. One day I will watch a show where we can all just watch it and get along, but clearly YJ is not that show. Neither is Thundercats. Or Generator Rex. Or Star Wars. Or pretty much everything that Cartoon network has or will produce.

* * *

><p>Am I crazy? Yeah, probably.<p>

Who in their right mind would talk the Flash into talking to Green Lantern into talking to Superman into talking to Batman about letting us launch an investigation? What kind of lunatic would willingly go to a Shadows' base in the first place? Unless you were one nervous breakdown from hopping on the bus to Arkham, Why would you even try to outsmart the Batman?

I didn't know the answer to any of these questions, I just know that I did. There was another little incident that had me questioning my sanity: The kiss. (Cue dramatic music and the sound of high-pitched girly screaming.)

Now, I know my brains were all screwed up because of the power core, but Batman said that the suit couldn't make me do anything that some part of my heart didn't want me to do anyway, unless I was given an order.

Did any of you hear someone tell me to smooch the Batboy? No? Me neither.

So what's that mean? Well, for starters it means I have weird taste in boys. Also, it means I may have to consider _why_ I wanted to kiss him. Aside from the obvious reason, seriously, have you _seen_ him, there are a lot of likable things about much as I hate to admit it, he's extremely intelligent and actually pretty funny. On the other hand, he has a tendency to flaunt his intelligence to the point where you just want to slap the fuck out of him. He'll often use his wit to hurt, not humor, or maybe it's just me he does that to. And I'm sure he's got all the stuffy, stuck-up girls at whatever stuffy, stuck-up school he goes to drooling over his little black batboots.

See, for every good trait he possesses, he has a bad trait that completely ruins it.

Maybe it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. Think about it: I was bleeding out, I thought I was going to die (and I have a sneaking suspicion my funeral would be pathetically small.) Who wouldn't want to die kissing a cute boy? Even if he was out cold? I know plenty of girls who would kill to have the chance to kiss Robin, no matter what state of consciousness he happened to be in. Hell, the boy could be cold, dead, and stinking and they'd still go for it. Only problem with that theory is, I kissed him and...

And I wanted to kiss him again.

I know, I know, I have more important things to worry about. Sammy's missing, Batman's mad at me, I'm about to go charging into a base that may or may not contain Ivory Bones who may or may not know where Avery is who may or may not be able to help me find Sammy.

That's not a plan! That's _barely_ an idea. But, hey, I have a knack for coming up with plans so bad they're practically laughable and by some miracle end up somewhat working out kind of how I wanted, so keep your fingers crossed.

The bio-ship touched down, and I pressed the small button hidden on my dragon clasp. My cloak darkened into a deep purple, and the gold trim around my mask turned a dark shade of cobalt. The golden dragon dulled into a bronze, the emerald orbs that served as its eyes blinked into sparkling chips of sapphire. I smiled, nothing like wearing dark clothes and sneaking around the jungle to make you feel like a badass.

We stepped out of the ship, instantly fanning out and melting into the shadows. We regrouped in a small clearing when we were past the thickest part of the jungle, every one of us swatting at Mosquitos. The Shadows may not know we're here yet, but the little bloodsuckers of the Amazon sure did. I was glad that Batman had made us get vaccinated before the trip, otherwise we'd probably be dead from all the bug bites we'd already sustained.

"Man..." I slapped at a bug on my cheek. "We're gonna be itching for weeks."

"Hey, you're the one that brought this on us..." Robin muttered.

I blushed fiercely, my bug bite throbbed. "Shut up, bird boy!"

"Commando..." Aqualad sighed, because he knew that I'd done something bad again.

"What's he talking about?"

I groaned, figuring I better confess before Robin got the chance to tell the others a horror story. That, and I don't see any way I can lie my way out of this one and I really don't have the time or the patience to try.

"Okay, so I might've talked Wally's mentor into sending us on a mission to the Amazon, so what?"

"You lied to him, and you lied to us." Robin scowled.

"I didn't lie! I just took the truth and altered it slightly to suit my needs." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Wait a minute, What?" Wally frowned, clearly confused.

"The guy who runs the place is her friend Avery's dad." Robask answered for me.

"Excuse me, the boy was talking to _me_." I glared.

"I'm a _boy_?" Wally scowled.

"Barely." Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Stow it, Blondie!" he snapped back.

"Enough, you two." Aqualad rebuked.

"I hate bugs..." Conner growled.

"Aw..." Megan gushed.

"Guys!" I rubbed my temples. "We don't have time for this, we have to..."

"Who died and made you leader?" Robin sniffed.

"You if you don't shut up..." I took a moment to glare.

And that's when the Shadows attacked.

Three masked ninja men launched themselves at us, effectively slipping our group in half. Robin and I on one side, and every one else on the other. Conner bellowed in rage, tackling one of the guys. Two more ninjas joined us, pressing me against a line of tropical spiky trees I don't know the names of. Wally was dodging flying ninja stars, Artemis notched arrow after arrow and started picking them out of the sky. For the hundredth time I thought they'd make an awesome duo if only they'd get along.

Ninjerk #1 threw himself at me, wielding a sword. I grabbed his wrist and tried to disarm him. But then his buddy joined in and came at me. I shoved the first guy away, pivoting on my foot an kicking the second in the throat, made a full circle, and locked arms willl the swordsman again. I couldn't grab my guns to help protect myself without letting the ninja go. If my arms so much as trembled the man would turn me into cute little Commando bits.

The other ninja caught his breath and came towards me again, whipping a dagger from its sheath on his waist. I couldn't defend myself or get I'd get skewered, if I didn't defend myself I'd get stabbed. I wonder whmore would be worse, the sword or the dagger? I'm willing to bet that either one is going to hurt like hell.

A wave of water crashed down on the ninjas, slamming them against the trees and knocking them out. Before I could thank Kaldur, someone threw a smoke bomb and turned the clearing a milky white. Panicked, I groped around for something to guide me through th smoke. I felt Megan try to set up a phychic link, but with everyone confused and disoriented it was impossible.

I rammed into something big and soft, I bounced off and landed on my butt in a patch of thorns.

"YOUCH!" I leaped straight up and scrambled madly onto softer ground, picking thorns out of my pants.

Someone above me cleared their throat, and I craned my neck upward to look a him-expecting Kaldur, or maybe even Conner.

I recognized him immediately, because he looked so much like his daughter.

It was Ivory Bones.

I could tell by his expression he recognized me, even though we'd only met twice. And, like most of the supervillains I know, he doesn't like me. At all.

I didn't even have time to be embarrassed by the whole thorn routine, I was too busy stammering and trying to find something, anything, to say. I'd expected to find him, but not like this. Not with me so vulnerable.

His lips parted as if to speak, but he was interrupted by a ear-splitting battle cry. A leather glad figure appeared out of the smoke, brandishing two small throwing knives. The ends were tinged green and glowed gently in the darkness. He pulled back his arm and let it fly.

I leaped to the right, but the knife brushed by my arm and sent a trickle of warm blood running down to my elbow. At first I thought how lucky I was to escape the attack without serious injury; but then my arm started to tingle, then went completely numb.

I got dizzy, not your usual light-headed dizzy, but the kind that makes the ground buckle and roll under your feet and trees crash down around your ears. A sudden wave of weakness came over me and I crumbled to the ground, letting out a low moan of agony.

_Poison..._The thought sprang out from somewhere in the back of my fogged mind. _The dagger was poisoned..._

Surprised, Bones looked over at the ninja and began forming a word in his lips. I'm not sure what he said, all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears, but he never finished the sentence. A batarang soared through the air and nailed the ninja in the head before he could throw the other knife. I twisted my head to the left, looking for Bones. He was gone, having the good sense to disappear as soon as Batboy showed himself.

Robin hurried over to me, kneeling by my side and gently took my arm in his hands. He couldn't examine the wound very well with his gloves on, so he pulled them off and quickly grabbed my injured limb again. I yanked it away just as fast.

"Rob, no!" I grit my teeth against the hiss of pain that shot up my arm when it scraped against the rough material of Robin's uniform.

"The wound has poison in it, you can't get it on your skin!"

I knew my warning had come to late when Robin clutched his head and fell backwards beside me. I groaned in a mixture of pain and frustration, Batman should seriously start hiding Robin from me because bad things happen to him when I'm around.

My head connected with the soft undergrowth under my head when I could no longer hold my head upright. The Amazon was alive with the sound of fighting as well as the soft murmer of animals. The jungle was abundant with beautiful plants and trees that I've never seen before. If you could ignore the Mosquitos, it wasn't that bad of a place.

Not a bad place to die.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Bones's scowling face above me. His mouth was moving, but I only caught a few words.

"Because of her...remember, this isn't for you.."

* * *

><p>I'm a cuddler.<p>

I can't help it, it just happens. If you share a bed with me, I'll end up stealing all your blankets and snuggled up against you by the time you wake up. No matter who you are, my subconscious does not discriminate.

Robin was clearly no exception.

We were lying on an air mattress, a thick quilt laying over us. When we had arrive at the jungle it had been dusk, but now the sun was down and the once unbearable heat had taken a dramatic plunge. I opened my eyes, someone had made a lean-to amongst a cluster of fat trees. A fire blazed a few feet away from where we were laying, close enough for us to enjoy the warmth but far enough away so the blanket, and us, wouldn't catch fire. My rescuer had taken care to use wood that would give off plenty of heat, but not a lot of smoke. The set-up seems familiar, and then I realized why. When the Highwaykids and I camped out in the woods, by choice or otherwise, I'd always asked one particular person to help me set up...

"Avery..." I croaked, uncurling my arms from Robin's waist and moving his arm out from under my head where I'd been using it as a pillow.

"Close..." someone muttered.

I sat straight up, making my head throb, and turned toward the speaker. Bones sat by the fire, poking it gently with a stick. Robin was out cold, so I rose from the mattress and gently covered Robin back up with the quilt. I walked over to the campfire and knelt beside Bones.

"So..." I touched my bandaged arm gingerly. "Thanks."

"I figured Avery'd be pissed if she found out I let you die." He answered gruffly.

"And Robin?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I figured _you'd_ be pissed if I let your boyfriend die." He shrugged.

I glared. "He's. Not. My. _Boyfriend_."

That got Bones to look over at me, a slightly amused smile on his face. He breifly glanced over at Robin who lay sleeping peacefully under the lean-to, then turned his attention back to me.

"Really? Could've fooled me."

"He's not!"

"That's funny, I thought all teenage girls were gaga over the Boy Blunder."

"Cause you know so much about teenage girls, right?"

"I have a daughter."

"My point."

_That_ struck a nerve, he threw the stick into the flames and stood, brushing off his hands on his pants.

"Knew I should've let you die..." He muttered.

"Then why didn't you?" I retorted. "It's not like Av will ever find out."

A hand clamped down on my good shoulder, I screamed a little in shock which earned me another hand over my mouth.

"Quiet! You want to alert the whole base?" The owner of the hands snapped.

Once I'd calmed down the hands slipped from my body and the rest of the person appeared before me. Avery nodded her head in greeting then went over to sit by her father, I followed her and nestled myself onto the soft grass.

"Gotta say, you recovered quickly. Not like the birdie over there." Bones jerked his thumb in Robin's direction.

I shrugged. "That's what happens when you get stabbed by an assassin for the Shadows at age ten, and again at twelve. You build up an immunity to the toxins."

"By who?" he asked.

"Cheshire. First time was in the left leg, up high. The second was my other shoulder. Someone hired her to kill me when I was ten, I paid her twice as much to not and tell everyone she did. When I was twelve...well, she was in a bad mood and I brought up a few family issues of hers that made her a bit touchy."

"Ah." Bones nodded. "Still, you would've died if I hadn't given you the antidote."

I rolled my eyes. "So what do you want, a medal?"

He scowled.

"Well, you two are getting along as well as I thought you would." Avery interjected. "But could we please skip the socializing and get to the matter at hand?"

In the light of the fire, her pale skin looked like alabaster. Her dark hair and matching eyes were as black as the sky. I nodded my consent, scooting closer to the fire.

"First of all, why are you here? Last I heard you and your dad weren't exactly 'simbotico' lt the moment." I asked Avery, purposely ignoring Bones.

"Things are getting...hectic, in the villian community." Avery glared into the flames.

"But after Isabella died..." I frowned.

"Yes, my mother's death drove me from my father, but he's not the whole reason why I'm here."

"What is?" I narrows my eyes in curiosity.

"You don't know?" she looked up, surprise flickering over her usually scowling expression.

"Know what?" I felt like I was with Batman, and he was doing that super annoying thing where he'd beat around the bush so much its all you can do not to clobber him.

"Sammy." She said. "They're holding him inside." she pointed vaguely into the jungle.

My heart soared. We could rescue him this time, I know we could! With Avery and Bones helping my team, we could...

"My team!" My eyes widened. "Where are they? Are they okay?"

Avery's hand wrapped around my wrist. "Calm down, they're fine. After you and Robin were jumped, they finished off the rest of the ninjas and searched for you two for awhile. I wanted to deliver you two to them at once, but my father insisted you were too ill."

I couldn't stop the words that popped out of my mouth next. "And you believed him? He's an idiot!"

Bones reached for his gun, Avery froze him with a look.

"Well, he is..." I grumbled under my breath.

"Anyway, they gave up after awhile and went back into their ship. They didn't leave, they just put the ship in camouflage mode. Probably planning on spending the night in the jungle and restart the search tomorrow. And we'll make sure your their to find." Avery turned back to the fire as if everything had already been decided and their was no point arguing.

Aw, Avery, you know me better than that. I'll always argue, its when I sit back and just let things happen to me is when you really need to worry. Because I'm either deathly sick, or I'm silently plotting your downfall.

"And what about Sammy?"

Avery looked at me closely, as if she was deciding what to tell me and what to keep to herself.

"I'll take care of him, you need to go home." She looked up at the sky. "And soon..."

"Sammy's my friend too, I want to help him." I crossed my arms stubbornly.

"Look..." she pinched the bridge of her nose in aggravation. "It'd be a bad idea for the Shadows to know where you are."

I pointed at Bones. "Little too late for that, Aaron may be a moron, but he is a Shadow. At least, he is now."

"Did you just call me Aaron?" Bones narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, Dad, she knows who you are..." Avery sighed in annoyance.

"Speaking of knowing things, how'd you know I'd be here?" Bones glared at me.

I shrugged. "Kinda easy when you have an ice-meta supervillian on speed dial. The rest was just a matter of planning and mapping, so I have a pretty good guess of where the base is. Or at least, I have an idea of where to start looking."

Avery stood. "No, Commando. It's too risky."

"Why?" I sprang to my feet. "Why is it risky? What aren't you telling me?"

Avery stared off into space. "Don't...Don't get too held up in this, but...I think the Shadows are after you."

I nearly toppled over into the campfire. "And your telling me this with your Shadow father sitting right there because...?"

"It's the heavy-hitters that're after you, not me." Bones growled. "I could care less what happens to you."

"And he won't tell them either..." Avery shot him a pointed glance. "He's promised to look the other way so I can grab Sammy, but his 'helping' ends there. I'll have to fight my way through a couple dozens

I looked back and forth between the pair, clearly there'd been quite a bit of hostility between the Lake family before I'd gotten here.

"i can't just let you go in alone." I pulled myself back into the conversation.

"Yes, you can, and you will." She scowled at me.

"What makes you think that?" I scowled back.

Avery's hand lashed out and she gave me a shove. In my weakened state, I was easily knocked flat on my back and got the wind knocked out of me. Avery stood over me, a smug expression on her face. And I'm telling you, she's good as smugness, because with her emotionless mask she slips on all the time you need to pay close attention in order to pick up on it.

Angry, I scrambled to my feet. "Okay, I see your point, but you can give me back to the team all you want, but you know that I'll just keep coming back. Like a rash." I grinned.

Avery quirked an eyebrow. "And how do you plan on keeping them here in the Amazon? You're clearly in bad shape. They're going to want to get you some medical help."

"I think we've established I'm a good faker." I smirked. "And if they still don't buy it I'll just, you know, smooth-talk them. Unless Megs reads my mind, which won't happen, they won't find out."

Avery blinked. "You're really not going to give up on this?"

"Nope." I beamed.

"Fine." Avery closed her eyes, whether it was in defeat or irritation I wasn't sure.

"Great." I said, rolling my shoulders to get rid of the tension. "Now all I have to do is stretch a bit and hope my muscles don't freeze up when we're fighting.

"So..." Avery looked over at Robin. "Are we bringing your boyfriend or..."

"Not you too!" I groaned

* * *

><p>Hey, guys, how you all holding up during the hiatus? :D<p>

Random: Is it just me, or does Zatanna look almost exactly like Barbara Gordon except a tiny bit taller and with dark hair? Watch Homefront, and then Humanity. Its seriously freaky. O_O


	38. Battle Lines

Hey guys! Why is YJ on hiatus? Why am I in such a good mood? Why is everything I put in this footnote so stupid and pointless?

Robin's POV

* * *

><p>I woke up in a daze, lying wrapped up like a mummy underneath a nicely-built lean-to. For a second I wondered where I was, had Bruce and I gone on a camping trip? Was this a school function? Practical joke?<p>

Practical joke..._Commando_!

I sat bolt upright as images flashed through me head, a thrown knife, a bloody arm, so much blood...

Shaking my head to clear it, I kicked the blankets from my body and sat up. It was early dawn, and the temperature was already staring to soar upwards. Stretching my muscles, I crawled out from under the shelter and looked over at the little campfire area a few feet away from where I lay.

Commando and another girl, Avery, were packing up supplies and cleaning up their campsite. Occasionally Commando would raise her head and say something, and Avery would reply with a few words and they'd go back to work. Neither girl looked over at me, it was like I didn't exist.

I frowned, where were they going? It was clear by the way they moved that they were nervous, they clearly weren't planning on calling in the team so we could go home. I stood, walking into the light of the dying embers and cleared my throat.

Thier heads snapped up, Commando cursed under her breath and forced a smile. She dropped what she was doing walked over to me.

"Look, just go back to sleep and nothing bad will happen. I promise."

"What are you doing?" I narrowed my eyes at the pair.

"Well..." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "We're gonna go get Sammy back. We may have to fight through some peeved-off assassins, but...I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Oh, no you're not." I crossed my arms.

"I'm calling the League. Maybe they'll be able to knock some sense into you for once. If not, at least they'll drag your butt back to the Cave." I said, reaching for my comm. device.

"Would you believe this is all a dream?" she asked, catching my wrist.

"Um...let me think. _No_."

"Eh, worth a shot." She shrugged. "Avery?"

The girls stood on either side of me, and before I knew what was going on they lifted me in the air and started carrying me over their heads like a log. Commando knocked the communicator from my hand and stole my utility belt. She held my wrists together so I couldn't hit her.

"Hey, wha-what? Put me down!" I shouted, wiggling in their hands.

"Are you gonna go tell on me?" Commando lowered me enough so she could see my face.

I was beet-red with anger. "YES!"

"Then I'm sorry, but you know too much." She smirked, and Avery slapped a piece of duct tape across a my mouth to shut me up.

Furious, I thrashed and kicked at their hands, but their grip was like steel. They carried me through the jungle, making sure to keep me high above the ground so I couldn't get any leverage. Eventually, I just stopped fighting them and focused more on pouting, which is hard to do with duct tape over you mouth.

When we finally stopped, Avery and Commando tied my hands and feet together and say me down on the ground so they could figure out what to do with me.

"Can't we just tie him up in a tree so no predators can get him?" Commando asked.

"Some predators can climb, Commando, and besides if a Shadow found him he'd be a sitting duck."

"We can't untie his hands, he'll race right over to the bio-ship and tattle!"

"I know that, but I also know we can't let him get torn to pieces by some panther either."

"We should've just drugged him. That way he would've slept until we had Sammy and I could've told him any lie I wanted."

I didn't like the way they were talking like I was even there. I reached over to a fallen branch and tried to saw through the ropes on my hands. I was so focused I nearly missed Commando saying "Trash cans outside the base?"

Horrified, I glanced at Avery who was slowly nodding in agreement. Acting on some unknown cue, the girls picked me up again and we continued into the jungle. We reached the base, and Avery put me down long enough to hand Commando a small handheld device.

She took it, the light from the screen turning her skin a faint blue as her hands flew over it. The device beeped and a grin passed over her face.

"Security systems down. Won't be long before the assassins figure out someone messed with their systems, though."

"Then we have to hurry." Avery nodded.

The girls carried me over to the side of the building, where a row of trashcans sat bolted to the side so animals couldn't knock them over. Each can had a lock on it so they creatures of the Amazon couldn't crawl in either. Avery withdrew a key and unlocked the last one in the row. Thankfully, it was empty.

The girls grabbed me, ignored my grunts of protest, and unceremoniously dropped me inside. The lid was fastened to the top and locked, throwing me into darkness. Someone stabbed the side of the can with a dagger, giving me air holes.

I growled at that, because I specifically remember doing the same thing for bugs in a jar when I was little. I pressed my ear to the side of the can, listening to the girls' mumbled voices conversing about something. I tried to use the air holes to see out of, but they were too thin to see anything except part of a bush.

"Won't he cook?" Commando was saying.

"Nay, I put a space blanket over the can to deflect the sunshine. Besides, we won't be in there long."

I could picture Commando shrugging. "Alright, let's go."

There was the sound of footsteps, but soon they faded away. I maneuvered my gloves hands so I could reach the side of the can where Avery had poked the air holes. With what little light I had to work with, I pushed a hidden button on my gloves and popped out little blades on each of my fingertips. I couldn't see very well so I focused on cutting open the trash can first instead of the rope. If I slipped up on the can, it was no big deal. If I slipped up on the ropes, I could nick an artery and bleed out.

I cut a huge circle in the plastic, just wide enough for me to squeeze through. I knocked out the circle with my hands and tumbled out onto the jungle floor. In the light, I was able to cut off the bindings on my hands and feet safely. The rope fell away from my ankles and wrists easily, and I allowed myself a moment to rub my sore joints. The blades withdrew back into my gloves and I frowned when I realized how long it took me to escape. Twenty minutes at least, Batman would be furious.

I looked up at the base, it didn't look like anything was exploding or on fire yet. Knowing Commando, it wouldn't stay that way for long. I sighed, I guess it was my job to make sure she wasn't caught in the blast zone when she finally got her hand around something flammable.

I snuck around the side, locating an unlocked door that the girls must've used. I had barely stepped inside the building when someone shouted "Look out!" and a shuriken nearly took off my head. Luckily I was faster and dropped to the ground in time. Someone grabbed my cape and yanked me out of the way before a ninja could bury his dagger into my back.

Avery joined us and we took cover behind a control panel. Both girls sweaty and panting, Commando's cheek was sliced open and Avery had a bloodied lip. They both were covered in smaller cuts and bruises, but nothing too serious.

"I thought I left you in a trash can, bad Robbie!" Commando shook her finger at me.

"By the looks of it you're lucky I _didn't_ stay outside." I retorted, pointing to the blood running down her face.

"We can handle it." she said, and as if we're words were a cue a grenade clattered to the ground beside us.

"Grenade!" Commando screamed, picking it up off the ground and whipping it back towards the Shadows.

"Hit the dirt!" She cried, throwing herself to the floor and covering her ears. Avery and I had just followed her order when a huge blast echoed throughout the building and the force knocked all three of us into the wall behind us.

"Well, that was almost really, really, bad." Commando sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I rolled my eyes.

"You're welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm." she retorted.

"Did you just pick up a hand grenade and toss it across the room like a baseball?" Avery poked her head over the charred and smoking control panel, then pulled it back before she was decapitated by a flying sword.

"Okay..." Commando handed me my utility belt. "Anybody got a plan?" she sat up, fired a few shots, then fell back down.

"Call in the team?" I suggested.

"By the time they get here it'll be too late!" She frowned, checking her ammo and frowning.

"Valid? Any ideas?" Commando looked up. "Ummm...where'd she go?"

We peered out from behind the control panel to see Avery standing in a ring of unconscious bodies.

"What're you two waiting for?" she asked, her face completely expressionless.

"Haha, looks like you just got out-ninjad, Robbie." Commando grinned at me.

I scowled at her, but she was already up and running towards Avery. Embarrassed, I leaped to my feet and followed them. We raced down corridor after corridor, stopping occasionally to fight a straggling assassin or ninja.

We came out into a huge room set up like a laboratory in a really bad psi-fi movie. Hundreds of computers with blinking dials lined the room, massive glass cylinders filled with phosphorescent green ooze made up one side of the room. High-tech machines were placed awkwardly around a row of steel surgical tables. One of which, I saw, contained Sammy.

Neither girl moved, I looked over at them and asked the question with my eyes.

"This is too easy." Commando frowned. "No way they'd leave Sammy this unguarded. Avery?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know. My father has been...less than helpful."

I sighed. "Okay, then, but we can't just stand here and state at each other all day, What do you want to do?"

Commando looked back into the room, lost in thought. "Avery, may I see your dagger?"

Avery stiffened, but otherwise didn't move. I remembered that her mother, the late Ehony Dagger, had once carried a small silver knife like the one fastened to the belt around Avery's waist. It was probably the same one. If I was her, I wouldn't just go handing it around to people either.

Slowly, hesitantly, she handed it over. Commando took it and stabbed a nearby pipe, sending hot steam bursting into the room. Commando jumped back, handed Avery her dagger, and stood back to watch her handiwork.

A complex framework of lasers appeared before us. One of them was about two inches away from my right boot. Alarmed, I carefully edged away from it. Avery pulled small bits of reflective glass, which is just a fancy term for a mirror, from her pockets and set them up to deflect the beams.

Satisfied, Commando walked through the tunnel of safety Avery had provided and approached Sammy's unconscious body.

"Okay, so are we gonna drug him up or just...?" Commando began.

Before she could finish the sentence, Sammy's eyes snapped open and he lunged at Commando, wielding a knife. Commando started and tried to dodge, but Sammy was quick and made a long cut down Commando's right arm. She screamed in pain as well as shock, quickly drawing out her guns. Apparenly the gesture was unnecessary because Avery appeared between them, staring deep into Sammy's eyes. Sammy prepared to make a swipe at Avery, froze mid-swing, and let the knife tumble out of his grasp.

The two stood like that for well over five minutes: not moving, not speaking, and if I didn't know any better, not breathing either. Then Avery snapped her fingers in front of Sammy's face and the boy blinked once, twice, before blinking rapidly in confusion and looked around like he was lost.

"Mandy? Valid? What...Where am I?"

Commando took a step towards him. "Pheonix buddy, don't you remember anything?"

Sammy's eyes narrowed in concentration. "I remember...sitting in my foster parent's house. They're really nice, Mandy, the woman likes making cookies. Then the door was kicked open and...and..."

He shook his head. "And then nothing. The next thing I know I'm standing right here." He looked around, and his eyes fell on me.

"Is that Robin?"

"Yeah, and I was right, he is _way_ more annoying in real life." she smirked.

I glared at her, but let it go. The three kids were having a nice moment, and I didn't want to ruin it. I just had to wait a few minutes and Commando would take care of that herself.

"Guys..." Sammy cleared his throat. "There's...something else I remember."

"What?" Commando's voice was laced with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I...It's fuzzy but I think...someone told me...after I stabbed you..."

"Very good, Commando." A voice boomed from somewhere above us. "You've managed to free your little friend. Not that it matters anyway."

We all looked around, searching for the speaker. Something told me to look up. I gasped, nudging the others and pointing to the ceiling. There, right above our heads, was a hologram of a man wearing an expensive-looking suit and seated at a desk. A cruel sneer passed over his face as he examined us, like we were the most disgusting little boils he's ever had the displeasure to meet.

"Lex..." Commando muttered. "What are you up to now?"

Lex smiled, purposely ignoring her. "I have to say, when I purchased Mr. Ridder from Pycho Pirate I never dreamed it would turn out this well. Not only are you here, but so is another one of your delinquents and the Dark Knight's pet bird! I'm going to be a very popular man after today."

"Oh." I growled back at him. "And why's that?"

Luthor chuckled, a sound that sent shivers up my spine, and said "You'll find out, boy, you'll find out..."

Commando's nerves got the best of her. "What do you want, Lex?"

"A moment of your time." Lex replied. "After that...well, it won't matter."

"I don't like this..." Avery scowled. "Let's get out of here before..."

Thick metal barriers slammed down in front of the exits, blocking our escape. We could probably saw through them with lasers, but it would take awhile.

"No no, child. You mustn't leave just yet." Lex scolded.

"Let us go, Cue ball." Commando sneered. "Let us go or I swear I'll..."

"You'll what?" Lex smirked. "You're at my mercy here, girl, not the other way around."

"Just wait, Luthor, one day..." She muttered under her breath.

I decided I needed to take control of the situation, considering Comman was too blinded with her hatred for Lex to focus on anything else.

"You're babbling, Luthor." I snapped. "Just cut to the chase already!"

Luthor sighed like he'd been enjoying taunting us. "Kids today, so impatient...Very well. I won't keep you in suspense."

A cold, evil grin spread across the billionaire's face. "You, my dear children, are going to be part of a little demonstration against the Justice League. What better way to get the public's attention than the deaths of four youths?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait...deaths?" Sammy's eyes bugged.

"Shhh!" Avery quieted him, eyes never leaving Lex.

"Yes, boy, _deaths_. The media will be in a frenzy, The Justice League planning out funerals, and then our troops will strike. The world will be in chaos, mass destruction and mayhem in the streets. Quite simply, it will be the third world war. The League will become overwhelmed and then, at the height of all the excitement, my friends and I will activate our litte machine and, _voila,_ no more superheroes. What's left of the world will have no choice but to submit."

"But how?" Commando frowned. "You tried that before, remember? I didn't give you the codes! I didn't even remember them!"

"True..." He mused.

"And, unfortunately, neither did Ridder. We found a way around that, it took awhile and ate up a substantial amount of my funds but I think it was a good investment in the longrun." he glared at us like we were to blame for his money trouble.

"You...You're bluffing." I stammered. He had to be. Because if he wasn't...the thought was too terrible to even consider.

"I can assure you, Robin, I am deadly serious."

"Why are you telling us this?" Sammy frowned. "Isn't the whole 'villain reveals his evil plot to the unlikely heroes bit' kind of clichéd?

"Perhaps." He smiled. "But you won't live long enough to make a difference in our plans one way or another."

With that, he reached under his desk and pulled out a cartoonish remote with a huge red button on the front. It would've been funny, but I knew the purpose of the button was so Luthor could be theatrical and draw out our deaths.

With a smile, he pressed it. A loud beep was heard and everyone tensed, but nothing happened. I was about to laugh at Lex when I heard it.

_Tick-tick-tick..._

"What the...?" Commando looked around, hearing it too.

Avery cocked her head, listened, then followed the noise to a cabinet beside Sammy's table. What she removed and set on the table beside us made me want to laugh and gasp at the same time.

It was a bomb. Not one of those fancy James Bond style ones, more like something thing you'd expect the Wile E. Coyote to use against the Roadrunner. It was basically a few sticks of dynamite with a little activator on top, but it could easily take out the base along with anything with anything within a five foot radius.

"That's right, children, in two days time I'll be in charge. All we need now is your buddy, Commando, The Superboy."

_Tick-tick-tick..._

"Now, if you children don't mind, I have an appointment in New York to ready for. Good-bye."

The hologram dissappeared, leaving us alone. For a second, no one moved. We were all unsure of what to do. Then reality caught up with us and Commando took the bomb in her hands.

"Alright, first of all, no one panic. Avery, the knife?" She said, glancing in her direction.

This time, Avery didn't even hesitate. Commatoo popped open the back and a ball of multicolored wires spilled out. I considered taking the bomb from her, but she clearly knew what she was doing and if I tried to interfere we'd all be blown to bits.

I watched as Commando pulled, cut, and crossed wires. Her eyes were narrowed in fierce concentration, her face was set in determination. 'We are not going to die,' she seemed to say, not 'when I know I can save us.'

"Damn." She cursed, holding two wires together. "Get me something to hold this with."

After a moments search I found a roll of tape and ripped her off a piece. She took it from me, wrapped it around the wires, and quickly slashed apart a green wire. Then she stared at the bomb intently, as if willing the bomb off.

Tick, tick, ti-...

We all signed with relief. Sammy pumped his fist in the air, Avery smiled, and Commando sunk to the ground, exhausted.

"Hey..." I nudged her. "You, uh, You did good." I admitted grudgingly.

"Thanks, Rob." She looked up, her eyes were grim.

"But this isn't over. In fact, it's barely begun."

* * *

><p>CLIFFHANGER! I love them, so much. Anyways, my family was supposed to do something today but that didn't work out so I got up early for nothing and ended up typing this. Your welcome. Just kidding:D<p>

Random: Icicle Junior=Ice Man. I swear, Junior is just Bobby Drake is disguise. Either him, or Jack Frost. or maybe Snow Miser. In which case, who would be Heat Miser? Superboy? Maybe if he gains heat vision...


	39. Heroism

Hey, read this chapter and then review it. I miss Young Justice, so much.

Commando's Pov

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><p>"It's like Lex said."<p>

I looked up at Batman, always so intimidating and fearless-even when receiving bad news.

"War is coming. And we need to be ready."

Batman gave me a long look that I couldn't read, then glaced over at the team, and finally at Sammy and Avery, who we decided must come along given the circumstances.

"You're right, Commando. But this set-up is...unlike Lex."

"I thought that too." I said, drawing his attention back to me. "I think there's more people than just him involved. There has to be, he kept saying 'my friends' and 'our' and 'we.' When we fought Psycho Pitate he mentioned something called 'The Light.' And when I was dressed as Red X the mobster kept saying 'we must be ready' but they never what for. I think The Light, whatever it is, is responsible for this, and by the sound of things they've been planning this for awhile."

"If you're right, then the League will be greatly outnumbered. Could all this be a lie? I wouldn't put it past Lex to set up an elaborate ploy just to mess with our heads."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, there he goes again, trying to fit everything into a tiny, rational box.

Sammy helped me out this time. "No, he's dead serious. Things are coming back to me, a little fuzzy maybe, but I can make some things out. He has the tech from before, and he's enlisted a lot of people to help him, I think he's telling the truth."

"No offense, kid, but Pirate messed with your head, can we trust what you say?" Robin said, suspicion clawing its way into his voice.

I whirled around. "Can we afford not to?"

_That_ shut him up quick.

"It sounded like Superboy was important for this...whatever. Maybe if we make a plan, use Conner to draw them out..."

"We can't risk our resources on something that may not be.."

"Look, Batman, we only have two days and..."

_Beep! Beep! Beep_

I was interrupted by the Cave's computer screaming as it received a flood of reports. Batman's hand barely touched the keyboard when clips of television reports popped up on the screen.

"-Cat Grant reporting from Star City, the...the villians are attacking! It's like they're all working together...I...Ahh!-"

"-Iris West-Allen, the coordinated attacks are overwhelming the on-hand Leaguers. They can't hold them off forever-"

"-Star City-"

"-Manhattan-"

"-Central-"

"-criminals-"

"-attack-"

"-He...Help...-"

"It's started." Wally breathed.

Batman's comm device was blowing up his ear, they were so loud I could hear the frantic calls from where I was standing.

I couldn't hide the smugness in my voice when I said. "Believe me now?

"We need reinforcements." Batman said, hands flying across the keys. "Jordan is bringing as many Lanterns as he can, but..."

"Eh-hem..." I cleared my throat and waited until Batman turned around. "I may know a few people..." I grinned, darting my eyes back and forth between him and the two Highwaykids.

"Very, well, Robin and Kid Flash, help her with that. The rest of you need to help me assemble the forces we already have..." He said, looking back at the carnage.

The villians were pulling out all the stops: Missils, bombs, joker gas by the blimpfull, giant man-eating plants, robotic soldiers and so much more. I had assumed they would attack in two days, when Luthor's machine is supposed to go off, and they knew that. They'd taken us completely unawares.

"I can probably get Cameron to help too." I smiled. "Eh, why am I saying 'probably?' He always does what I tell him."

Robin groaned, like Cam helping was the last thing he wanted. At least he wasn't making boyfriend jokes.

"Can you guys start hunting without me?" I asked.

"I gotta make a few calls..."

* * *

><p>"Come on, Cam..." I whined.<p>

"Jill, I told you...I...I'm not as tough as you."

"We need you..." I thought about it for a second. "I neeId you."

"Jill, _please_, hang up the phone and just..." His sentence was cut short.

"Cam?" I frowned. "You okay, buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...just fine..." He sounded pained.

"Well?"

"I'll...I'll help. I'll meet you in Central City, in an hour, in your old hideout, okay?"

Cameron was acting weird, even for him. I chalked it up to the awkward situation I put him in and said "See ya later, then." And hung up.

Wally came skidding in, "What'd he say?"

I beamed triumphantly. "He's in. I'll go get him in a little while. Where's Conner?"

"In the kitchen. Megan is freaking out over the whole using him as a distraction. What's up with her?" He blinked dumbly.

"I dunno, buddy." if he couldn't figure it out for himself, there was no use telling him.

Together, we walked out into the Mission Room and smiled. My Highwaykids, each and every single one of them, stood around waiting for the upcoming war. Some of them laid out supplies and ammo like old troopers. Others were simply ecstatic to see each other again and couldn't stop laughing.

I spotted Mia hiding in one corner of the room and waved. She smiled shyly and returned it. I felt someone clap their hand on my back. Grinning like a madman, I turned and gave Lily a big hug.

"Figures you'd show up when things got interesting." I laughed.

"Hey, who else is gonna make sure you don't get killed?"

I looked around, taking in the other renforments we'd assembled: Red Arrow, Green Arrow's old protégé who I stared at for about an hour when he first showed up. Zatanna, a girl who was standing way too close to Robin for my taste. Some random assassins who were Avery's friends. And finally little Max, who wasn't technically a Highwaykid, but we felt he should be included.

At first, I thought we had a pretty good little set up, but then a seed of doubt plants in self in my brain.

_What if it's not enough...?_

I shook my head. It had to be enough, there was no other choice. I looked at my watch, I could use the zetas to get to Central, but by the time I reached my old hideout I would be late for my meeting with Cam. Add that to the fact that the whole world had gone insane, and he might decide that I wasn't coming and just leave. I suppose I could use the sewers, but that plan depends on me leaving right now.

"Hey, Freckles. I gotta go get Cam. See ya later."

"Be careful." He smiled.

Something passed over me. Something foreboding and dangerous. My instincts were telling me that something was wrong, that I needed to stay here or bring Freckles with me. I rubbed my temples, I thought I was just being paranoid. Cam is my best buddy, nothing bad would happen.

"Tell the others...Tell them I said bye." I stammered. Where did that come from? Damn, the stress is getting to me.

I walked over to the zetas, making sure I had a good variety of bullets: Shockers, rubber bullets, sleeping gas bullets, and newer ones that Canary helped me developed: polyurethane foam bullets and ones that exploded on impact. I had a sneaking suspicion that Green Arrow developed them, considering they were similar to the arrows Arty uses.

The zeta beam recognized me, and began transporting my molecules to the desired location. If you haven't been teleported before, you should. It actually really cool, although the first couple times make you dizzy as hell. Your whole body tingles, there's a sharp tug in the pit of your stomach, and then your there. I thought it'd be cool for Batman to set the zetas up so if someone who wasn't in the computer's database tried to use them, instead of just denying access, they could be rigged to transporththe person directly to jail. I thought it was a great idea, Batman wouldn't go for it.

I came out in an alleyway in Central. Almost immediately a huge grape vine with eyes and teeth slammed into the ground next to where I was standing. Panicked, I fired a bullet at the creatures head. GreLen blood, er, chlorophyllfor mmed a puddle in the middle of the alley. Something told me that the possessed plants were one of the mildest weapons in the villains' arsenal, and if I stood there long enough I'd encounter much worse.

Needless to say, I ran like hell.

I looked up, the Hawks circled the sky, attacking the Penguin's robotic plane-sized birds. Hawkgirl swung her mace and took the atomaton's head clean off. I had to jump to avoid being crushed. Hawkgirl launched herself at another robot, and I almost felt bad for it.

_Note to self: Do not make that lady mad at you._ I thought, eyes wide in admiration.

I located the manhole and pried it up with my fingers. I took a deep breath, pinched my nose, and jumped in. I thought I would land on a strip of concrete, with the sewage running down in canals on either side of me, but apparently I'm a moron and found the wrong manhole, because next thing I know I'm standing knee-deep in scummy water.

"Oh...oh God, that...I'm gonna hurl." I covered my nose and mouth with my shirt, hiked up my cloak, and waded onto the pathway at the side of the tunnel. I tried to kick off most of the gunk on my boots, but the path was just as slimy, so it was a lost cause. I figured I'd find a hose and wash myself off before I returned to the Cave, Bats and Canary would kill me if I tracked this onto the floors.

I bolted down the winding tunnels, periodically stopping to fight a stray robot or plant creature. As I ran a robotic scorpion with an electrified stinger climbed onto my boot. I freaked and bunted the creature into the sewer water before it could zap me. As I watched it float away I couldn't help thinking what would happen if the scorpian managed to crawl into the pipes and find its way into someone's toilet.

I found the manhole I was looking for, or at least I think it was, we've already established I cannot be trusted with telling the sewers apart without a map. I climbed the latter and pushed up the manhole cover, made a quick survey of the area like a meerkat poking it's head out of a hole, and climed out. With the better light I saw that my boots and the edge of my cloak were coated in...um...mud. Yeah, let's go with that.

The warehouse sat on the very edge of the block, well hidden behind a cluster of unoccupied appartments that never seemed to have anybody working on them, although the commercials depicting a ridiculously happy person claimed that they'd be finished soon.

The closer I got to the warehouse the greater the sense of unease I'd first felt when I said bye to Freckles seemed to get. Canary always said to trust your gut, but at the moment my gut was still lurching from walking around in the sewers, so I just tried to shrug the feeling off. A shiver ran up my spine, and not just because Weather Wizard was messing with the temperature.

I entered the warehouse via my secret entrance (yeah, I know that's cliche) and snuck into the main sleeping area/dining room/kitchen/den/playroom. When I didn't see Cameron, I shrugged and walked into The Office. That was the only other place he could be if he'd arrived on time, and if he was a bit late I could at least have a comfrotable place to rest. Plus I'd be safer, considering The Office had about twelve different escape routes which I may need to utilize if the villains decide to demolish my warehousedoor whatever reason.

Inside the Office I found Cameron, iced-down and sitting cross-legged on my couch. His head was bowed, and he held one of my old cloaks, a really tiny one from when I was seven. He was running his hands over the soft material almost apologetically. I caught a glimpse of his sea-blue eyes, they were uncharacteristically grim and remorseful. Judging by the ring of red around his eyes, I guessed he'd been crying.

Concerned, I stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. Cameron is like me, he never cries. And if he ever did, he sure as hell wouldn't do it around me. Maybe this is why he was acting so strange over the phone, maybe his dad finally hurt him so bad he broke down. Whether his pain was emotional or physical, I couldn't tell.

"Cam?" I shook him gently. "Buddy? Are you okay?"

Cameron looked up, I thought he was going to start crying again. "You shouldn't have come. You should've just stayed away."

"Cameron, I...I don't understand. You _asked_ me to come."

"Yeah." He curled up into himself. "And you did. Because you trust me."

"Of course I trust you. We've been friends for years. Just tell me what's wrong, I can help."

"No." He shook his head. "You can't help me. You can't even help yourself."

Before I could ask what he meant, strong hands closed around my arms and legs. I cried out for Camto help me, and tried to jerk away my attackers. Cameron didn't move except to hug my cloak tighter to his chest. Furious, I twisted my head to the right. It was Captain Cold, my old 'mentor,' the guy on my left was Boomerang. Why were they here with Cam unless...?

I groaned. They were part of the Light, or at least they work for them. I'm willing to bet that Icicle Senior does too. My suspicions were confirmed when my least favorite Mahkent stepped out of one of the shadows, grinning triumphantly. Trickster handed him my guns and ammo, who gave them to his son. It wasn't a fatherly gesture of giving his boy a spoil of war. It was a show of arrogance, he might as well have said '_See, you have no control over your life. I completely own you. I can take your only friend away from you, even better, I can make you help!_'

Betrayal hurts, but it hurts even worse when you know you should've seen it coming. Cameron and I are friends, he's like my big brother, but his first loyalty was always to his father. He can say he doesn't care about his dad or what he thinks of him all he likes, but at the end of the day Cameron will jump through hoops to impress Senior. I tried to break him of it countless times before, but eventually I just had to accept that if Senior and I both needed a kidney transplant and Cameron was somehow a match for me, I was probably going to die. That's a bit harsh, I know, but it's true.

If I wasn't angry enough as it was, my favorite bald billionaire buddy decided to make an appearance. I wanted to scream obscenities at him, but when someone sets such an obvious trap and you walk right into it your ability to feel superior kind of curls up into a ball and dies. I was hurt, but I couldn't make myself hate Cameron. He was scared of his dad, and fear can be a pretty powerful motivator. I should know.

"Commando..." Lex didn't seem at all surprised to see me. "Glad you could make it."

I thrashed against my captors, but their grip held fast. "What do you want, Lex? You got what you wanted. The war has started, you have your machine, are you seriously so obsessed with your vendetta against me that you set this up? I've seen the news, don't you have something better to do?"

Lex laughed. "You seriously believed that? My dear girl, it's impossible to activate my machine without the codes. If it was, I would've found it a long time ago and wouldn't have bothered to kidnap you in the first place."

"But...but I still don't have them." I frowned.

"Oh, but you do. Somewhere deep inside your little monkey brain, you have the codes. You just can't access them. When Pirate went into your head, he retrieved them for me. Along with some...interesting memories." He smiled smugly.

_If he brings up Kota and Ty, I'm gonna lose it and tear his cueball head off his neck with my teeth. _I bit my tongue.

"When I got my codes, I planned on using them right away, but my technicians ran some tests and found that the power source I was using was...insufficient and unstable. So I looked for a new power source, and I finally found it." He rubbed his hands together.

"Superboy." I said.

"Superboy?" He grinned.

"Yeah." I smiled back, before realization slowly dawned on me. "No...Me?"

"Correct. Tell her what she's won, Jonny." Senior laughed, but was quickly shut up by a sharp look from Lex. I had a pretty good guess of who was in charge of you in this messed up little hierarchy.

"But...I don't get it." I felt so stupid, and Lex knew it.

"Don't you...Red X?"

"Damn." I cursed. "I am _not_ good with keeping secret identities. Why does Batman even let me out of the house? Bad things happen when I do...usually to Robin." I shrugged.

"You're hilarious." Lex rolled his eyes. "Why don't we just put our little battery into the machine and get this over with?"

"If you're talking about the Xenothium, I don't have that either. Batman took it." I blinked.

For some reason, they found this hilarious. Everyone but Cam cracked up.

"It doesn't matter. Remember when the Xenothium affected you brain? Do you think the effects just...went away? Sure, you can think for yourself now, but your DNA is infused with small traces of Xenothium. Not enough to hurt you, but plenty for what we have in store."

"I don't have the battery..." I looked at my feet when I realized what he meant.

"You _are_ the battery." Lex finished for me.

"Saying Superboy's name was another ploy, if Batman thought I'd wanted you, he would've dropped everything to go protect you. Truthfully, the only thing I didn't lie about was starting WWIII. There is no attack on Superboy. There is nothing happening in New York. I even lied about the date, and you fell for it."

"Fuck my life..." I closed my eyes. I was screwed, and I'd only myself to blame.

"Not that you need any more reason to hate your life, but just to add insult to injury, Darling?"

No fucking way. I turned, and came face-to-face with my mother, Talia Maria Jackson.

"Great..." I breathed. "This is just so fucking great."

"Watch your mouth, brat." Talia snapped, making her way to Lex and linking arms with him.

"Aren't you suppose to be in jail?" I sniffed.

"Just got out." She smiled cruelly.

"Always knew our justice system was faulty..."

She scowled at me, but said nothing.

"I suppose you should know, your mother played her own little part in this." Lex interrupted.

I said nothing, at that point, I know longer cared.

"At first, we introduced her into your life again simply to hurt you. To break your spirit. Even the , we knew you'd be trouble. You simply do not care about your own life, which means you would willingly sacrifice yourself to save humanity. That, and I did have my own reasons for wanting you broken."

"Because you're a spoiled brat who threw a tantrum when you didn't get your way." I filled in the blanks for him.

"The second time...well, it was convenient. The two people whom you hate the most, Talia and Mr. Zucco, in the same room together. How could I pass that up? You loath them, Commando, but your also ashamed of them. You know what Zucco did to the Graysons, you know better than most what your mother has done, and your disgusted because they are your family. You can deny it, but somewhere deep in your heart you hate yourself, because you know you're _exactly like them_."

"No." I set my jaw. "I'm nothing like them."

Lex smiled like he'd expected me to say something like that.

"This has been fun, Commando, but we really should be going. Say goodbye to your mother, this is the last time you'll ever see her." Lex said, signaling to someone behind me.

Something sharp pricked my skin, a needle of some sort, and I fell into a restless sleep.

When my eyes fluttered open again, I'd thought I was still asleep.

This couldn't be real, but it was.

I was strapped to a cold metal table tilted completely on its side. I tested the bonds to see if I could break them, no such luck. Little round disks were attached to my face, arms, legs, and feet. A huge machine say about five feet away from me, the molecule destroyer that I was brought here to power.

It was a big, bulky computer was a ridiculously tiny keyboard and massive screen. An antannae like the ones you see at a TV station was connected to it, it was so stupid looking I nearly laughed. I probably would've too, if it wasn't for the fact that the machine could kil most of my teammates.

I was so focused on the machine I didn't see Cameron until he cleared his throat.

I guess he expected me to be angry and yell, or maybe break down and sob, but I just looked at him without saying a single word.

"Jill...I...I'm so sorry. My dad...and Luthor."

"It's okay, Cam." I said evenly. "You're still my friend. I'm just a little disappointed."

Cam hung his head. "He's my dad..."

"Yes, and you are his _son_." I put a lot of emphasis on the last word.

"Has blood ever meant anything to your dad? Has he ever gone out of his way to show you he loves you? _Does_ he love you?"

"I...I don't..."

"You don't know. And that's sad, Cameron, it really is. But I get it, alright, my love is always unconditional, with your dad...well, he makes you work for it. To have us both, you had to betray me. At least you're trying to make it work with your dad, that's more than I ever did."

Cam stood there for a moment, stating at his shoes, before he remembered what he came there for in the first place.

"Thirsty?" He asked, holding up a bottle.

I licked my lips and nodded. He pressed it up to my lips and I drank greedily until the bottle was about half empty. Cam shifted awkwardly on his feet and held something up for me to see: a pill.

"Painkillers." He said sheepishly.

"Don't want 'em."

"Jill! The process...it'll hurt."

"I know." I turned my head away.

"I want to feel the pain. I want to show Luthor I'm not weak." I swallowed.

"Can I have the rest of the water though?"

"Oh, yeah...of course."

When I'd completely drained the bottle Cameron offered me the pill again, and again I refused

"Besides." I said. "They're just gonna kill me afterwards anyway."

"No." Cameron shook his head. "They promised they wouldn't."

_Oh, Cameron, you poor naïve fool_. I thought, not having the heart to burst his bubble.

"Ready, child?" The adults came back into the room again.

I lifted my head, Cameron may be delusional, but I was resigned to my fate. I strained against the leather straps one more time, I balled my hands into fists and scowled. I might've been tied up, I knew I was going to die, but I wasn't going to turn into a sniveling pile of jelly, I promised myself I would go with dignity. These...people...wouldn't break me.

Lex flipped a switch and the disks started to buzz, at first it only tickled a bit. Just when I started to think 'oh, this isn't so bad,' the disk started to burn. They just got hotter and hotter and hotter until it felt like there were drops of lava on my skin. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

_Its okay...you're okay..._ I calmed myself.

But the real pain was yet to come.

Shockwaves of pain ran through my body. It felt like someone was taking a flaming knife and plunging in into every bone in my body. The pain was so intense, I couldn't help it, I threw back my head and howled in agony. The worst part was the laughing. Senior, The Rogues, and Lex, all were clutching their ribs and laughing so hard tears ran down their faces. Although to be fair Trickster was probably just laughing at the picture of dogs playing poker on the wall. It went on for what felt like hours, when Lex finally stepped forward and turned off the machine I was about to pass out from the pain. Bright pops of red and yellow danced in the corners of my eyes.

Cameron was at my side in a second, peeling the disks off my skin and dabbing my sweaty forehead with a cool rag. A pill pressed against my mouth and this time I sucked it down my throat without question. The pill was quickly followed by another long drink of water. By the time my eyes were open, Lex had finished calibrating the machine and setting the timer. His meta-human pals would have that long to get to a safe place, which Lex must've had already set up. I wasn't sure, but I'm guessing it's the same place the rest of The Light is.

Cameron undid the straps and caught me before my weakened body crashed to the ground. He propped me up against a wall and gave me a smile. I smiled back, but my eyes were locked on the adults, who were one by one stepping into an escape-pod type thing.

Cameron followed my gaze and frowned.

"Dad?" He stood, walking over to the pod's entrance.

"What're you doing?"

Senior glared at his son, his greatest failure, and shoved him away from the door. Cameron landed flat on his back, groaning. By the time he sat up Senior had slammed the door shut behind him and the pod was on its way, flying off to who-knows-where. Cameron was a meta-human, unless he was in the safe zone he'd be blasted to bits along with all the other metas, hero and villain alike.

"He...he shoved me." Cameron mumbled disbelievingly. "He left me to die."

I stood on shaky legs, walking over to Cameron and pulling him to his feet.

"I can stop the machine." I told him.

"You can?" He brightened. "Then do it. Hurry, before it..!"

"You don't understand, Cam..." I shook my head.

"Luthor set the machine to explode if tampered with. I can stop it, but you and me...we won't make it out of the blast zone in time. If I don't stop it, it's going to explode anyway, to bury the evidence. I might make it out of the base, but not the blast zone, I just can't run that fast."

"No matter what we do..." His shoulders slumped. "We're goners."

"True..." I said, taking his hand.

"But at least we can die as heroes."

He looked at me funny.

"Cameron, for years I didn't know who I was. Jill Jackson? Commando? Someone else entirely? But now I know. I am Jill Jackson. Jason Jackson's daughter. Dakota and Tyler's Jackson's big sister. The Leader of the Highwaykids. Just a teenage girl. Despite what most people think, a Hero. I am not my mother. I am not my father. I'm not just some delinquent punk. I am me, and everyone else can just get the fuck over it."

Cameron smiled, we hugged. I turned towards the machine.

"I'm coming home, Grandma." I whispered, tears running down my face.

I fired a bullet into the middle of the circuit board, the machine sputtered and died. My triumph didn't last long, as the expected countdown began.

**Self Destructing in Twenty, Nineteen, Eighteen...**

"Come on!" I grabbed Cameron's hand and we ran. I didn't want to be anywhere near that evil machine.

I started to say goodbye to everyone, even though no one except Cameron could hear me.

"Goodbye, Mike, get into college. Paint me a mural. Thanks for taking me in and giving me a home when I had nothing."

**Seventeen**.

"Goodbye, Batman, Goodbye, Canary, You'll never know how grateful I am for giving me a second chance."

**Sixteen.**

"Goodbye, Freckles. Thanks for being my new partner in crime. Be nice to Arty, we all know you're crazy about her, even if you don't yet."

**Fifteen**.

"Bye, Arty. Remember: Evil isn't hereditary. I had to learn that the hard way, and I don't want the same to happen to you. See previous farewell, just change the name from Arty to Freckles."

**Fourteen.**

"Bye, Kal. I know I wasn't always an easy kid to deal with, but you never lost your temper. Tell Aquaman's baby about me when it's born. I really wanted to see it. I love babies, did you know that?"

**Thirteen**.

"Bye, Conner, I'm sorry I never found a good nickname for you. I mean, come on, Supes? That's so weak! I can do better. You're not Superman, you'll never be Superman, and I don't want you to be! I don't want you to be anything like that prick! I'm being mean, just...don't give up on him, okay? If he doesn't straighten up soon I'll come back and haunt his pompous ass. Is that Man of Steel afraid of ghosts? Hope so. Keep your fingers crossed."

**Twelve**.

"Running out of time...Goodbye Megs. I'm sorry I never let you put me in a dress. I knew how excited you were, having another girl at the Cave. Pink is...not my style. But we could've compromised. Purple maybe? A skirt? I dunno. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, calling the outfits stupid. I should've just sucked it up and put on the freaking dress. Just once. To make you happy."

**Eleven**.

"Goodbye, Robbie. I know you hate that nickname. But don't you get it? I kept saying it because it bugged you. I liked seeing you get all angry and speechless, usually you're so...in control of yourself. It was funny, and I was proud because no one else could make you like that. I know we didn't get along, unless it was like, crisis situation, but...part of me wishes we had. At least sometimes. Even though it annoyed me, keep messing with the English Language for me. Hey, have you ever noticed there's an insane and a sane, but no outsane? Weird..."

**Ten**.

"Bye Daddy...and no, Zucco, I don't mean you, you're nothing but a worthless bastard, I'm talking to Jason. I love you, and I want you to know...I forgive you. For leaving me, for never protecting me. It's okay...I'm strong Daddy. Being on my own made me strong. Don't blame yourself.

**Nine.**

"Bye Ty, By Kota...God, I'm so sorry for leaving you. I should've...done something. Damn...I love you guys. I wish I could've seen you guys before...I'm sorry. Be good, Stay in School, Hugs not Drugs, just pick out your favorite cliche and pretend I said it."

**Eight**.

"This goodbye is for my Highwaykids. I wish I could say goodbye to you individually, but that would take too long..."

**Seven, Six**...

"It's speeding up...I love you guys. You're my best friends. Stay out of trouble, or at least try. You guys are awesome, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

**Five, Four...**

"Bye Mom...Can't believe I'm wasting this goodbye on you. Just know that even though I'm gone, I'll still always hate you, you evil manipulative bitch. I hope you get hit by a bus."

**Three.**

I turned to Cameron, who still held me hand. His face was sweaty from running.

"Bye, Cam..."

"Don't say 'bye.'" He snapped. "That's too final. Say...say 'See you later.'"

I laughed weakly. "See you later."

He nodded. "Better."

**Two.**

"Goodbye everyone." I said. "I had a feeling I wouldn't make it to adulthood. But I thought I'd at least make it to fourteen."

**One.**

**Zero**.

I closed my eyes. There was a roar, everything went red, then faded to black.

I didn't feel a thing.

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><p>Did I really kill Commando? Would surprise you if I did, wouldn't it? :D<p>

Love reviews, worked super hard on this.

Random: Wally's hair is silly :D


	40. Lifeline

Hey, guys, there's a rumor that YJ will come back in March. Not gonna get to excited because last time I did that I was dissapointed...yeah! Finally this footnote has something interresting to read in it! :D

This chapter isn't as 'Ahhh!' as the last one, but I love the ending :D

Btw, you guys broke the record for most reviews in a chapter, Thanks :D

:D :D :D

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><p>Commando is gone.<p>

I lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling of the Cave's guest room. The mattress was comfortable, but I couldn't fall asleep. All I could think about was the time Commando hung large hairy toy spiders from the ceiling so they'd fall on people and scare the crap out of them.

Commando... I squeezed my eyes against the pain.

When Canary, red-eyed and furious, had given us news of Commando's passing none of us had believed it. Sure, the villians had given up way too easily. Sure, the weapons had all deactivated without reason. Sure, we hadn't seen Commando for hours. That didn't mean the villian's plan had been thwarted by one brave sacrifice, by Commando or anyone else. Besides, they were after Superboy. Strong, superpowered, Superboy. Not Commando, who was so painfully human.

But then Canary proceeded to tell us about the ruse, how we'd all fell for it and Commando was the real target. Apparently the Red X suit left traces of Xenothium in her DNA, which could power Luthor's machine. She'd told us how Commando had known that to stop the machine that would kill hundred of heroes, she would have to be sacrificed.

But she did it anyway.

Even, then, we were still skeptical. Especially the Highwaykids.

Canary had sighed, dabbed her eyes, and rolled a clip of security footage on the Cave's giant monitor from a small warehouse just outside of Central City. When the Hawks had seen the explosion, they'd immediately contacted the League. Batman had accessed the security cameras in the building, expecting a wacko with a homemade bomb or something. Instead, he'd found evidence of Commando murder.

Murder. Another word that didn't belong with Commando's name.

The worst part was her goodbyes.

I'd stopped listening after she said mine, but I couldn't get her words out of my head.

_"I know we didn't get along, unless it was like, crisis situation, but...Part of me wishes we had. At least sometimes."_

I wish we had too, Commando. I wish I could tell you that. But now...now it's far too late for wishing. She's dead, passed, in a better place, however you want to put it. Commando's gone, and there's no getting her back.

Commando's final words, saying she'd thought she would at least make it to fourteen, was the last straw. I balled my hands into fists, letting tears roll down my face as I watched Commando and Icicle Junior rounded a corner, and then the bomb went off. The security cameras were obliterated. Without acknowledging the team, the Highwaykids, or even Batman, I stalked into the guest room, flopped down on the bed and sobbed until my eyes burned.

She's dead. She'll never be fourteen, she'll never get the chance.

I stood, composing myself, and went to join the others. It was just like after the training excrcise went rouge. No one talked, no one even looked at each other. They just layed there in silence, tears staining their faces, mourning. The Highwaykids were gone, and I was glad. The looks on their faces when the found out their leader was dead, the crying, the anguish...I couldn't take it.

Sighing, I walked into the Training Room, hoping to find Canary.

My fighting instructor was leaning against a wall, looking at a scrap book. I made my way over to her, and realized that the book contained nothing but pictures of Commando. The time she demolished the kitchen trying to cook spaghetti, the day she and Wally had a silly-string war in the living room.

Wally...my best friend was a wreck. He'd been the last to see Commando, and he blamed himself for not stopping her. Not as much as Batman did, he'd taken responsibility for Commando. I knew that right now, he was drowning in self-loathing.

That, or he's planning Luthor's slow and painful demise. No wait...that's Conner's job.

"You miss her?" Canary asked, getting right to the point.

I started to deny it, but I stopped myself. What was the point? She's gone anyways...

"More than I thought I ever would." I admitted. "I know we fought all the time but..."

"Oh, stop it, Robin..." Canary snapped. "We both know you liked it."

I was taken aback. "_What_?"

"She challenged you. She got in your face and yelled at you, she raised your blood pressure, and you liked it. It was the same for her, you know."

I shrugged. All I knew was that I wished I'd been nicer to her. Every mean word and cruel joke was coming back to haunt me. Sure, she did the same to me, but...that doesn't mean I had to retaliate. At least, not all the time.

"I can't...I cant be here right now..." I turned away from her.

"Where are you going?"

I stopped. I hadn't really thought about that.

"Just...patrol..." I mumbled, running to the zetas.

As my body transported, I thought about the first time Commando used the zetas. She'd been like a little kid, wanting to go back and forth in the tubes, again and again. At the time, I'd taunted her. But now I just wanted to have Commando here to taunt.

I took a deep breath, and stepped out into the crisp clear Gotham night.

The war had put a damper on crime, but apparently not a lot because within five minutes I spotted a mugger grabbing some lady's purse. The purse was knocked out of his hand with an expertly aimed batarang, another one looped around his feet and brought him to the ground. I was gone before the lady had a chance to thank me. I didn't want to be thanked. After all, I'd saved hundreds of girls. But in the end, I would always know that there was one girl I failed to rescue. The most important girl in my life, actually. Pity I didn't realize that until it was too late. Why was that lady even out today? Did she not realize the world had almost ended?

I kicked a drug dealer in the chest.

I was done denying my feelings for Commando. Canary was right, I purposely made her mad at me just so she'd argue with me. Commando herself had said she liked seeing me flustered, so the rational part of my brain told me that Commando enjoyed the fights just as me, still...

I brought my fist down on some guy's shoulder. I liked to pretend that every guy I brought down was Lex Luthor: Commando's killer.

How could Lex kill her? I knew he was heartless, but this...She was just thirteen years old. I know I sound like an old man ranting over the rate of children joining gangs, but I was furious. He killed Commando, wonderful, funny, Commando. And he deserved to pay.

An alarm went off across the street. My flared up in my chest. Commando's gone, the world's in ruins, and someone has the gall to rob a stupid jewelry store? I pulled a batarang into my hand. If the guy thinks he's getting anywhere, he's crazy.

I made my way to the store, thankfully whoever owned it was sane and closed it for the day

_"-Outsane?" _

I shook my head to clear it. If Commando could see me right now wallowing in my own guilt she'd kick my ass halfway down the street and back.

_"Really, Robbie? There was nothing you could do! I made my own choice. Now shut up or go make me a sandwich, but don't make me sit here and listen to your stupid self-pity." _

Somehow thinking about what Commando woukd say cheered me up. At least enough for me to launch myself through the smashed window and tackle the would-be robber. I had a pair of handcuffs around his wrists in an instant.

"Lemme up...I gotta...tell you some...something." He mumbled through a face-full of carpet.

I frowned, the voice sounded familiar. But how...? It's impossible...unless...?

I flipped him onto his back and gasped. It couldn't be, but it was. I recognized the spiky blonde hair, the blue-tinged skin, the dark blue eyes...

"Junior?" I gaped. "But how...no offense, but aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Please." he begged with his eyes. "We don't got a lot of time. This little robbery was just a way to get attention. I...didn't know how any other way to bring out a hero. Jill's in trouble."

Thats all I needed to hear.

Once his hands were free, I started launching questions as him.

"Where's Commando?"

"Why are you not dead?"

"Is she okay? What kind of trouble?"

"Please." He said again.

"We were running and...and the bomb went off. But right before we got blasted Commando shot us with some polyurethane foam bullets. It made a bubble around us, shielding us from the blast. At first I was pissed because she made me think we were going to die. Then said she was 99.9% sure it wasn't going to work, and she didn't want to get my hopes up."

"So the goodbyes...they were all true?" it's not that I doubted her, but I just...I needed to know.

"Every word came straight from the heart." He said. "Wait a minute...Robin...She called you Robbie, didn't she?"

"Yeah." I shrugged. "So?"

His eyes narrowed, and for a second I thought he was going to throttle me, but then he shook his head.

"Kill him later...I'll kill him later..." He mumbeled.

"What?"

"It doesn't matter!" He snapped. "Anyway, we limped away from the building. We were both kinda cut up and bruised, but when we got out of the blast zone... Then Commando's bitch mother showed up...she put a gun to my head. Commando couldn't fight her. She was too afraid her mom would kill me." a touch of sadness crept into his voice.

"Is there a point to this?"

He glared. "Point is, she turned us over to her demented boyfriend. Well, Luthor doesn't give a shit about me, but Jill..."

He grabbed my arms desperately. "We gotta hurry. He's got her on top of the empire state building."

His eyes were wild with panic.

"He...He's going to make her jump!"

* * *

><p>what's the deal with me and cliffhangers? There's something wrong with me...god, my life has been so slow lately...but that just means I have more time to update:) hate to say this, but I'm gonna wrap up Commando's story soon. I have two or three ideas for new fics. I'll probably just write a chapter for each and read over them a couple times and decide which one I'll start up and which'll wait till a little later.<p>

Random: running out of topics...No YJ lately...

Okay, during Infiltrator Artemis used a special arrow to save Wally, which is how they could tell the difference between hers and GA's. But every episode since then, she's used the same arrow's as GA. O_O also, Artemis is ambidextrous. She shoots with both hands.


	41. Powerless

Hey, guys, thanks for all the reviews! :D

Commando's POV

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><p>"I have to hand it to you, Commando..." Lex scowled, stepping towards me.<p>

"You are very hard to kill."

I tried to come up with a witty comeback, but my mind was a total blank. I was teetering on the very edge of the empire state building. Looking up, I could see the massive point that was the building's peak and the sunny blue sky, randomly dotted with lazy little clouds. Looking down...

Well, let's just say I won't be doing that again, kay?

Lex had my gun in his hand. Behind him, my mother stood with one hand on her hip and a cocky grin on her face. I hated it because I recognized that look, I'd seen it a million times...on _me_. She was smug, and who wouldn't be? She's Lex Luthor's girlfriend. She's pretty, popular, and soon, she'll be rich as well.

And now she was going to get rid of the last thing standing in her way.

I took a breath, tying to think.

_Okay, Mandy_... I thought.

_Think, your injured, tired, and unarmed. He has you at gunpoint. You can't fight back with fists, so use words. It's what your best at..._

"Come on, Lex. You know me, I can't be killed. You shove me off, I'll probably just bounce right back up." I smirked.

Was it my best line? No. Did it work? Yes.

"So cocky..." he started muttering under his breath about no-good kids.

_Okay, keep him talking._

"Stop playing games, Lex. Where's Cameron? What's this about?" I inched forward a little, hoping Lex wouldn't notice.

"I left your idiot friend back at Central City. He's of no use to me..." He shook his head in irritation.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I stepped forward.

"Okay, then. What do you want from me, Lex? You got your codes, you got your machine. There's nothing else I can do for you."

Lex sneered. "Do? You've done enough!"

"Don't be such a crybaby." I rolled my eyes.

His face turned tomato red. "This isn't about the heroes anymore, Commando. This is about revenge."

"Issues!" I raised my hands, taking another baby step away from the edge.

"See, that's exactly what I mean!" He snarled. "You think you so fucking hilarious, don't you?"

I shrugged. "I do my best."

"Well, Commando. Today your best won't be good enough." He smiled.

I scowled at him, glancing uneasily at the space between me and Lex and me and the ledge.

He caught me looking. "This is what's going to happen, Commando." He grinned.

"You are going to turn around and jump off the ledge, or else."

Without thinking, I snapped. "Or else what?"

Wrong thing to say.

Lex smiled, a cold, evil smile, and turned to my mother.

"Talia, darling, please fetch our guests."

I blinked. Guests? Instantly my mind went to Cameron, but Lex said he left Cam in Central. The team? No, they'd still be fighting. Or if the battle's over by now, Batman wouldn't let them out of his sight. That, or they'd be searching for me because by now _someone's_ got to know I'm gone.

_Searching for me_... I smiled. Of course they'd be looking for me! If I can stall Lex just long enough for them to find me...

My mother walked over to the ledge and crouched. Something, no, _someone_ was handed up to her through the window. The first was a girl, about ten years old with ebony-colored hair and eyes like pieces of sapphire. The second was just a little boy, about eight or nine, with a blonde mullet and multi-colored eyes. Both kids had been crying, and when mom set them down on the roof they clung to each other in fear. Just a couple of kids tying to save each other.

I gasped. It couldn't be. Not them. They're in foster care, they're safe. They can't...

But there was no mistaking it, those two kids were my siblings: Kota and Ty.

"No..." I shook my head. "_No_.."

"Oh, _yes_." He grinned. "Now choose, child. Jump, or they jump for you."

My eyes widened. "Don't...Please, don't..."

"Sorry, it's beyond my control." He shrugged innocently. "If you want to save them, you know how."

He gestured to the ledge, I knew he was offering a deal. Kill yourself, and your siblings will be spared. I looked around desperately. No heroes were flying to my rescue, no escape path was in sight. I suppose I could try and get through one of the windows, but I didn't know if allow the other were unlocked. If they weren't, I'd face plant against the side of the building and fall to my death. From where I was standing, I couldn't reach the window Kota and Ty came through. Even if I could, I'd have to deal with whoever handed the kids to my mom. I was completely and utterly trapped.

Finally, my eyes locked on my mother, and I took a quick moment to study her.

She was good-looking, beautiful really. Her vainity and selfishness ruined it, but she was also smart and confident. She was a girl who knew what she wanted and wouldn't let anyone or anything get in her way. We were more alike than either of us would care to admit.

But right now, my mom didn't look so confident anymore. She was eyeing Lex up and down; taking in the trembling shoulders, the red face, the incredible, unreasonable hatred for me. She was deciding whether or not Lex was crazy.

_Come on, lady, do something! _I willed silently.

Lex caught me staring and smirked, having discovered a new knife to cut me with.

"Talia, darling, I'm going to shove those brats of the building if Commando doesn't comply, what do you think of that?"

My mom wavered for a moment, then smiled.

"Positively devine." she purred.

"_No_!" I cried aloud. "You can't!"

"Just jump, girl." she said, her face void of any emotion. "Jump, and nothing had will happen to them. I promise."

My shoulders slumped, I looked up and the sky again. The more I anticipated my rescue, the more I realized that it wasn't coming. No one knew where I was, by the time they find out it'll be too late. I couldn't pin all my hopes on Cameron, either. I thought Lex was bluffing when he said he was going to toss me off the side of the empire state building, maybe he was thinking the same thing and was looking in the wrong place. And that's assuming he's woken up, there's a possibility he's still laying in the alleyway, unconscious.

For the first time, I glanced over at the side of the Empire State Building. Was Lex telling the truth? If I jumped, would Kota and Ty be spared? Probably, mom cares about them. I saw that when Iatelier to her in the interrogation room.

My eyes dilated, it was just a ledge. Straight down, 1,454 feet. If I closed my eyes I could pretend that it was just a roller coaster, and we were on the downward slant. Only this time, there wouldn't be the sudden jerk as we stopped and began the ascent again. Just a sudden, halting, stop.

My feet started taking me over to it. I didn't look down. I couldn't. Lex made room for me, he looked smug.

I wonder what it's like, to die? I suppose it depends on whether you believe in an afterlife or not. Still, would it hurt? Or would everything just slowly dull to black, like I was passing out. Would I go to Heaven? Or a place _way_ farther south with the man in red wielding a pitchfork? I didn't know.

But I was about to find out.

I took a deep breath.

_No! _

A voice in my head shouted at me. I shook the fog from my brain. What was I doing? I couldn't fucking commit suicide! Whether it was to save my siblings or not, I couldn't. It seemed like...like running away. And leaving someone else to clean up the mess. Besides, my mother wouldn't allow her two angelic babies to be harmed in any way, by anybody. Ever. Me she'd throw under the train tracks for half a mallomar.

Am I jealous of my siblings? A little. But it helps that our mother is a complete and total bitch, so...

"What're you waiting for?" Lex growled. "Jump!"

I turned towards him. I stepped away from the edge. For now, I decided, I could bide my time.

"Screw you, Lex." I sneered. "If I do die today, I'm gonna die kicking and screaming."

"Little bitch." he grabbed my arm. "I you won't jump, then I'll push you!"

I tried to pull away, and in the process he stumbled, yanking my arm in a really awkward position. There was a sickening crack and a sharp twinge of pain shot up my arm. I screamed. The crack surprised Lex, who regained his footing enough so he was able to let go.

Tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, I backed away from Lex. My arm hung limp and lifeless at my side. I tried to bring it up to my face, to prove to myself that I was okay. The fingers twitched on command, but nothing more. It was broken.

Perfect.

Lex swung at me, I dodged to the right. I had to be careful where I put my feet, one wrong move and I was a goner. I caught a glimpse of my family, mom was furious, Kota and Ty's little eyes were wide with fear. It was that look that got my blood pumping, I had to win this fight. If not for me, then at least for them.

My eyes fell on the shiny hunk of metal in Lex's hand: the gun. Lex seemed to have forgotten about it. If I could get my hands, er, hand on it, I may have a chance. Adapting for my broken arm, I turned my body and prepared to fight.

Lex lunged, I dodged. His face was twisted up in rage, I was just trying not to fall of the building and become a little grease spot on the pavement. Finally, Lex gave up trying to grab me. He reached over and grabbed Ty by his hair and ripped him to his side. Ty cried out in pain, clutching his head and trying to wiggle free.

Every coherent thought went bye-bye. I saw red, my good hand balled in a fist. I launched myself at Lex, knocking him clear of his feet and away from Ty. I guess I shoved him just a little to hard, because we both toppled over the side of the Empire State Building and started to fall.

By some miracle, I managed to hook my good hand on the ledge and got a good grip. I caught the back of Lex's shirt with my foot, I hated the douche, but I couldn't just let him die. My body stretched painfully, every muscle screamed in protest. I didn't know how long I could hold on.

"Brat!" Lex hissed. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"Hey!" I snapped. "This would be a whole lot easier if I just dropped your stupid ass, so I'd shut up if I were you!"

But Lex wasn't listening, he grabbed my bad shoulder and used my body to hoist himself up and onto the roof again. My arm felt like it was in fire, and worse, my fingers we're starting to slip.

Let's review the list of superpowers I dont have again huh?

I looked at my arm_. Invincibility, elasticity..._

Even though I knew it was a mistake, I looked down. The ground spun underneath me, I closed my eyes tight and tried not to puke.

_Flight..what I wouldn't give to be Superman for just five seconds..._

"Commando..." Lex's voice made my head snap up. He was standing over me, and he didn't look happy.

I narrowed my eyes. _Heat vision._

Lex's stamped down on my hand, I bit my tongue and held on. Led had started to grind my knuckles into calcium powder with his foot when he suddenly jerked back. Curious, I peered over the side and saw Kota with her little arm wrapped around Lex's throat in an impressive headlock. Our eyes met, and I could tell she recognized me. Mask or no mask, she knew her big sister.

I smiled appreciatively. "Go Kota!"

With Lex distracted, I attempted to pull myself up over the ledge using only my torso and my good arm. My legs wouldn't be much help until I got some leverage. I had just gotten my stomach safely on the ledge when a pair of red stilettos appeared in front of my face.

i looked up, and stared deep into my mother's eyes. They were black as night and void of any compassion. At least Avery's eyes had a little sparkle in them, and least Avery's eyes held something them I could trust. But my mom's were cold and soulless, like the eyes of a hawk preparing to crush a mouse in its razor-sharp talons.

And guess what? I'm the mouse.

"So, Mom." I said, breaking the standstill. "What's it gonna be?"

Mom seemed taken aback. She stated at me, her eldest daughter, her greatest embarrassment, and it seemed that she was really looking at me for the first time. I wondered if she felt bad, for treating me so bad as a kid. When I left, I wonder how long she looked for me, if at all. Did she even miss me?

I got my answer when mom's face twisted up into a sneer. Her dainty little foot came back and she hoofed me right in the jaw. My head snapped back and I lost my grip on the wall. With a little grunt of surprise and pain, I was knocked backward and fell through the air as gravity grabbed my body and started yanking me back to earth.I heard a gunshot, mom tried to shoot me on my way down. Luckily, she missed.

Wind whistled through my hair, my whole body was wracked with pain, my arm cradled itself against my side. My lip was spit open and my nose gushed blood. I thought that I should probably be screaming, but I was too shocked and too hurt to care. Look, I knew my mon hated me, I just didn't know how much until...

I closed my eyes. And then I did something I hadn't done since I was five year old, not really. I let my eyes fill with tears and I cried. Not just your average sniffles and whimpering, I bawled like a baby. My eyes stung and my face felt hot, but I didn't care. Lex broke my arm, that's physical pain. I can take that. But my mom...my mom was the one to finally break my heart. And that was a pain I wasn't sure I could bear.

Add that to the list: Empathy. The ability to read emotions. Clearly I'd misjudged her feelings, and probably mine as well.

"Jill!" My eye snapped open.

I thought I was dead, or at least dreaming.

It was Robin. The boy wonder himself was swinging over to me, a grappling hook lodged in the side of the Empire State Building. For some reason I found myself wondering what poor sap was going to have to replace that window. Robin plucked my body out if the air and readjusted his weight so he could hold me better. We swung through the air like birds, Robin was as agile in the sky as he as on the ground. I replayed the scene back in my head, my mind barely registering the fact that I had been rescued. There was Robin appearing in front of me, saying my name...

My name. I blinked. He said my name.

Never, not once, had he called me Jill. It was always Commando, when he bothered to talk to me at all.

Robin settled me down on a rooftop of some old mini-mart so he could examine my wounds. I looked at him, smiled, and said.

"So Robbie, what kept you? I was starting to worry there for a sec."

Robin's eyes were wide and panicked. I followed his gaze to my chest.

I saw the blood before I felt the pain.

My whole shirt was soaked in crimson blood. For a moment I was confused, and then I remembered.

The gun. I guess mom didnt miss after all.

I felt light-headed, my legs turned to jelly. The world spun like I'd just taken ten turns on the tilt-a-whirl. It took all of my willpower not to bend over and empty out the inside of my stomach along with one or two of my kidneys.

When I finally collapsed in his arms, I could feel the blood running down my stomach.

Robin turned me over and I did the strangest thing: I smiled.

No, I don't know what it's like to die.

But now, looking at Robin, I think I finally knew how to live.

That's the last thing I can remember before I blacked out.

* * *

><p>Another cliffhanger. Do you guys hate me yet?<p>

Okay, there's a rumor around the Internet that the new episode is going to be about the team, Zatanna, and Billy Batson (Captian Marvel) having to beat the five most powerful sorcerers when the justice league along with every other adult on the planet dissappear. Now, the spoiler looks real. But...there was a moment is Justice league Unlimited that was very similar. Every adult in the planet was transported to a different dimension by Morgan Le Fay's creepy immortal eight-year-old son. Anyway, Morgan transformed the Justice League(batman, superman, green lantern, and wonder woman) into eight year olds. There was a lot of wonder woman/batman flirting and a lot of little kids running around causing chaos and I laughed so hard tears were running down my face the whole time. Not the same, but similar. It works because some members of the light are sorcerers, and they could introduce more of those guys to us and the team. Plus is fits in with the title, Misplaced. What do you think?

Random: okay, in Humanity when Wally was sitting in that chair sipping juice. Was I the only one looking at the electronics and going 'Wally West has a kindle?' I swear, it looks exactly like a freaking Kindle! Or at least the knockoff pandigital novel thing which is what I have. Watch the episode and tell me it don't look like a Kindle...sorry, Im just really hung up on this.


	42. Shattered

Yeah, again, nothing interesting to put in this footnote. I thought I'd start reviewing episodes here, but uh, no new episodes, so read the chapter and leave me a lengthy review :D

Robin's POV

* * *

><p>Commando was losing too much blood.<p>

I ripped off a piece of my cape and wrapped it around the gunshot wound on her chest. It looked like the bullet passed clear through her body, so I didn't have to worry about the bullet. But it was very likely that the bullet passed through something important. I used the remaining fabric of my cape to make a makeshift sling for Commando'a arm. I could do little for the wounds on her face except bad the blood away and hope infection didn't set in too quickly.

I needed to get her some medical help, and fast. I pulled a map of New York on my wrist computer and frantically scanned the hologram, searching for a nearby hospital. Right now I'd settle for a guy wiIh a dirty needle and a box of bandages. Luckily there was a hospital not far from where I was, but I couldn't risk swinging there on a grappling hook with Commando in this condition, I might move the bandages or bump her wounds, it was too risky.

What I did next was probably the most stupid and reckless thing I've ever done, Batman would have my head on a stick if he ever found out. I picked Commando up, cradling her in my arms like a baby, and jumped off the mini-mart's roof.

And then I took off running.

I sprinted down the street, dodging cars and people in my mad effort to save Commando's life. A few people snapped pictures with their cell phones as I passed, but I was beyond the point of caring. Commando's blood stained my shirt and gloves, the sharp metallic scent floated up my nose and made me want to gag.

Commando's eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Robbie..." She rasped.

"Hush. Save your energy." I scolded.

She smiled. "You're cute when you're worried."

A fierce blush krept into my cheeks. "W-What?"

"You heard me."

"Um...I...You..." I stammered.

"Commando, you're losing a lot of blood. You don't know what you're saying. You're just...delirious."

Commando shrugged with only one shoulder. "If that's what you wanna call it..."

I blinked. Commando had basically flat-out told me she thought I was cute. And she gave up on an argument. Either I'd fallen into an alternate dimension, or something was seriously going wrong in Commando's head.

I ran faster.

"Robbie..." she whispered.

I looked down at her. He face was white as a sheet, contrasting dramatically with the blood in her shirt. She seemed so weak and vulnerable. Nothing like the Commando I know. She'd never give up, especially not to a little thing like a bullet wound.

"Robbie, I...I think I owe you an apology." She frowned sadly.

"Me? Why?"

"I've been acting like a jackass. I mean, I liked arguing with you, don't get me wrong. It got my adrenaline pumping, I thought it was fun to see how far I could push you until you lost your cool. But when you did the same to me, pushed me too far, I flipped the fuck out. I guess that makes me a hypocrite, but...some of the things you said to me really hurt. More than if they came from someone else. I...I'm sorry."

"Commando, it's okay. You don't need to apologize to me. I'm the jerk here."

"No, _I_ am." She did her best to scowl.

"_No_, I am." I snapped.

The frown disappeared from her face, she chuckled weakly.

"Do you realize we're seriously arguing about which one of us is a bigger jerk?"

I smiled. "I guess we are."

"I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

The words sent a pang of fear through my heart. "Don't talk like that. We're almost to the hospital."

"You know it's true, Robbie."

"No!" I pumped my legs harder. "You're going to be okay, just a little farther."

Her eyes closed. "Tell..Tell the guys I said bye. You've been great. It almost felt like I had a family again."

"Commando, No!" I begged. "Keep your eyes open!"

She mumbled a quiet sorry, and stilled.

"Commando!" I shook her.

"Yell at me."

Nothing.

"Call me names."

Still nothing.

"Please..." I choked back tears. "Don't leave me..."

I burst through the front doors of the hospital, dropped to my knees in exhaustion, and screamed.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Half a dozen nurses and doctors, who'd been lazily mulling around the room before inbarged in and scared the crap out if them, raced to my side and took Commando from me. They tried to take me too, but I waved them away. I'd be fine, they needed to focus on Commando.

I must've blacked out for a moment, because when I opened my eyes again a nurse's hand was about two inches away from my face. From the look on her face, I guessed that she was after my mask. Typical. Her hand kept going, with the white reflective lenses in my mask hiding my eyes she couldn't see I had woken up.

I caught her wrist right before her hand curled around the edges of my mask. she gasped and let out a little squeak of surpirse.

"Nuh-uh." I shook my head.

She snatched her hand away and stood, clearly flustered.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

The nurse blinked a few times, confused. Then her eyes cleared as understanding dawned on her and she pointed.

I turned just in time to see Commando being rushed away on a gurney. A nurse stood over her, pressing an oxygen mask to her face. The doctors looked worried, which I know couldn't be a good sign. This is New York, right? These guys must deal with shootings all the time.

I raced alongside the gurney as they rushed Commando into surgery. A nurse tried to get me to leave, but I shut her up with a glare that would've made Batman proud. I watched as they repaired the tissue the bullet ripped apart. Okay, so I stood there and watched her face the whole time. I didn't want to look at all that blood again...

They were putting a cast on her arm when the team showed up.

"What happened?"

"Who did this?"

"Is she awake?"

"Is she okay?"

"Wait...she's alive?"

"Shut it, Baywatch."

"Hey!"

I answered the questions as best I could.

"Luthor and her mother pushed her off the empire state building, I caught her before...you know. She broke her arm, and she got a nasty gunshot wound to the chest, but the doctors say she'll be alright."

The nurses started taking Commando into one of the recovery rooms, so I quickly waved off the team's questions and followed.

I heard Wally mutter something about Commando not needing a babysitter, but then Artemis elbowed him in the gut and he shut up.

They lowered Commando's body, now clad in green scrubs, onto the bed. Her mask was firmly stuck on her face, I made sure of that. Her skin was the exact same color as her cast. Her face was peaceful and stoic, like she hadn't just almost died.

Sighing, I sank into a nearby chair to watch over her. The nurse's hesitated for a moment, then left. Good, I have enough to worry about without having to protect Commando's secret identity from the medical personnel.

Speaking of which...I looked around, making sure no one was around, and I slipped off my mask. Exhausted, I rubbed my eyes and wished that I could just curl up on the floor and take a nap. I suppose I could ask one of the others to watch her, but I felt obligated. I had been a bit of a jackass to her.

Okay...so maybe it was more than just obligation, but what can I say? I'm a guy, she's a girl. You do the math.

Commando made a little noise in the back of her throat, and her eyes pried themselves open.

"Hey." I smiled at her, knowing she'd seen me without my mask on but not caring.

Hey eyes widened. "Richard Grayson."

"Yeah."

"Richard Grayson. You."

I shrugged. "That hard to believe?"

After her initial shock had worn off, she started to get her sense of humor back.

"Naw, I have a nose like a bloodhound. I can smell money on people. And I'm sorry to say it, buddy boy, but you reek of it." she smirked.

Commando took a deep breath and tried to sit up.

"Woah there, let me help you." I said, putting my arm around her back and helping her sit upright.

"Thanks." She smiled, swinging her legs off the bed.

"Umm, Commando, maybe you shouldn't..."

As soon as she put weight on her legs they gave out from under her. I caught her before she could smash her face against the floor and gently eased her back into bed.

"And what have we learned?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at her.

"That Robin is going to be sarcastic whether or not you just got tossed off the Empire State Building?"

"Close enough..." I rolled my eyes.

"Blue." She said.

"What?"

"Oh, uh...your eyes are blue."

"And?"

"And nothing. Your eyes are blue."

"Okay then."

"Yeah."

"Blue."

"Mmm-Hmm."

Awkward pause.

"Help me to the window?" Commando asked.

"Why?"

"Because I want to, bird boy, stop asking stupid questions!"

I rolled my eyes, but I looped my arm around her shoulders and stabalized her as he limped over to the window. I dragged a chair over to the window with my foot and made her sit down in it.

"What's this all about?" She asked, sitting down in a huff.

"Compromise." I said. "You want to see outside. I want you to rest. This way, we're both happy."

"You know me better than that, Rob." She said, sunlight streaming in through the window and illuminating her skin.

"I'm not happy until I win."

I didn't know what to say back to that, so I just laughed.

There was another long pause, before Commando cleared her throat and looked up at me.

"Ever think about the future, Robbasked she asked.

"Sometimes." I shrugged.

"Your future is pretty secure, what with being in line to inherit the Wayne fortune as well as the mantel of the Bat." she blinked, realizing what she'd said.

"Is Wayne Batman?"

"Who else could it be?"

She shrugged.

"So...do you think about it? The future, I mean?"

Commando absently rapped her knuckles against the chair's wooden arm.

"I try and avoid it."

"Why?" I frowned.

"It's just...not safe for me."

"I'm afraid I don't follow you."

She sighed.

"Aw, Rob..." she ran her hands through her hair.

"Its a long story."

"I got time." I smiled.

"Heh, you're persistent, I'll give you that." She returned the smile.

"Okay." She began. "When I was real little, I didn't really think about the future. No little kids do. But even then I couldn't imagine a whole lifetime with that woman. And when I ran away, well...I couldn't really imagine a whole lifetime on the streets either. I knew that sooner or later, I'd have to grow up. Go to college, maybe, get married, have kids."

"You want kids?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, but I'm gonna let them drink and smoke so they stay little and cute forever."

"And then they'd get lung cancer." I pointed out.

She waves her hand, disconcerted. "Details."

"Anyways, keep going." I motioned with my hand.

"Okay, where was I...? Oh yeah, I knew that it wouldn't last forever. And I was right, wasn't I? I'm grateful to Bats and all, but he kinda turned my life upside down, you know?"

"A lot of people would argue that he turned you life around."

"Around, upside down, inside out, whatever." she rolled her eyes.

"Point is, everything changed."

"Is change a bad thing?"

"Depends." she looked up.

"On what?"

"Size. Little changes, no problem. Big changes..." she shook her head.

"Having everything in your life change so fast and so completely...well, it sucks. You should know that better than anyone."

I nodded. I love being Robin and living with Bruce, but I still missed my family.

"Do you still avoid the future?" I looked down into the parking lot, wondering why Commando wanted to sit here so badly.

"More than ever..." she replied sadly.

My head snapped over. I hadn't expected that kind of answer.

"Mind explaining?"

Commando sighed. "How long do you think this team is going to last?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

"Couple years?" She prompted.

"Probably."

"Then what?"

I thought about it. "Well, I guess I'd want to join the Justice League. That's what this team was originally for, a way to prove ourselves to the Justice League."

She nodded. "And now it's just a half-way house for delinquent punks..."

"Jeez, you've been thinking about this for awhile now, haven't you?"

She nodded sadly.

"Commando, it's...not like that." I tried to explain. "Batman trusts you, and his trust isn't exact an easy thing to get."

"Don't patronize me, Rob..." she growled.

"I have to work twice as hard as everyone else just so the JL won't boot my ass clear out of the Cave and into an orange jumpsuit."

"Commando..." I breathed.

"Look, I love being part of the team. But I gotta face facts, one day you'll all become big-shot members if the Justice League. What happens to me then? Will I receive the same warm welcome?"

"I'm sure they..." I began.

"No, your not sure. No one's sure. You have Bats, Freckles has Flash, Arty has GA, Megs has her uncle, and you know Megs will vouch for Conner, I have nobody."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "If it comes to that, I promise I'll vouch for you."

"Thanks, Richard."

"Dick." I corrected.

"Dick." she smiled.

There was another pause as Commando turned from me to watch a passing car.

"Isn't there supposed to be sappy music playing in the background when two teenagers have a heart-to-heart?" she asked.

"Usually. Want me to get you a radio?" I smiled.

"Naw..." she shook her head, lost in thought.

"Dick, maybe I should tell you, my father..." she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"What about him?" I frowned, puzzled. Where did the subject of her father come up? She said he was a heroin addict.

"I..." she hesitated.

"Miss him." she finished, looking at her socked feet with sudden interest.

"Oh." I said. "You meant Jason."

"Yeah..." she twisted a hand through her hair.

"Him."

"Uhh..okay."

Why did I feel like I just stumbled onto private territory? I knew it was probably best to change the subject, but...

"So...your dad?"

She looked right at me with an expression on her face I couldn't read.

"Know what, Dick?" Her voice was completely deadpanned. "I do want that radio after all."

"I was just tying to... " I defended.

"I know. I'm not mad at you. Please get me a radio." she blinked.

I followed her orders for two reasons. One, she was hurt. Two, unless your an adult or someone in authority, Commando will not say please. I slipped on my mask and made my way towards the door. My hand closed around the doorknob and I turned back to the window.

Commando's eyes were fixated on the parking lot, but I got the feeling her mind was somewhere much farther away.

* * *

><p>Okay, so...review my chapter.<p>

Random: why can you see bits of Wolf's flesh poking out of his fur? Wouldn't that get infected? Should Conner, like, take him to a vet? Just saying.


	43. Love Birds

Hey, guys, how's everybody holding out during the hiatus? Please tell me none of you have been drafted into the Ship Wars. It's a blood bath guys, trust me, the newbies always get picked off first. IT'S SUICIDE! DON'T DO IT! I tell you this because I care...

Review for me:D

Commando's POV.

* * *

><p>It took me about a week to heal enough so I could move around on my own, a fact that quickly made itself known to the hospital personnel, the Team, the Justice League, and a couple local policeman. I couldn't stand sitting around staring at a ceiling for hours on end, so I made my own fun.<p>

Was it my fault that they hospital got all hysterical over a few disappearing acts? Batman thought so, which is why he assigned a Leaguer or a member of my team to babysit me at any given time. Of course, I didn't take this as a punishment for bad behavior. I took it as a challenge.

I smiled, watching the raindrops pelt against the car window and slide down the glass, making crazy lines as the wind buffeted the water back and forth during its decent. Canary sat in the driver's seat, chatting about this and that as we drove.

I was going home.

Damn, you don't know how good it makes me feel to be able to say that word: Home. As a little kid, my mother's house had never felt like a home. Growing up I never stayed in any one place long enough for it to even begin to feel like home.

But the Cave held friends I knew I would never have to lead into danger, that's Aqualad's job. Friends I didn't have to spend sleepless nights over, wondering how I'd find a way to feed them, not to mention clothe them and put a roof over their heada. I loved the Highwaykids to death, but it's so refreshing to not have to worry about every little detail of their lives anymore. I liked having friends that I could turn to and say 'know what? You're irritating me. I'm gonna go play X-Box for three hours alone in my room cause I can't stand you right now, later!'

The car screeched to a halt in front of the alleyway. I got out, carefully covering my cast with my jacket. I walked around the car, stopping when I heard the sound of a window being rolled down. I turned, Canary's eyes peered out the window at me, one eyebrow arched as if asking a question.

"I'm fine, Canary." I rolled my eyes.

Yeah, I know it's scary how well I can read her body language. I wish I could read boys that well, there's one in particular that I wouldn't mind being able to understand. But his personality and views on our trainwreck of a relationship seem to change every twenty minutes, so I honestly think I have a better chance of decoding Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"How's the arm?"

"Broken."

"Hilarious, now give me a serious answer or I'll take you back to the hospital."

My eyes widened, I knew Canary was crazy enough to actually do it.

"It's better. Itchy, but better."

"And the gunshot wound?"

I took a deep breath, feeling the intense stinging in my chest, and slowly let it out.

"Hurts." I admitted. "But nothing I can't handle."

"Good." She drummed her fingers against the wheel. "You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

I took a deep breath, looked at the alley, and nodded. "I'll be alright."

Canary gave me the okay, so I made my way to the phone booth and activated the hidden zeta. Canary might've agreed not to walk me over, but I was aware of her eyes trained on me the whole time. The computer recognized me, and I quickly looked down so I could see my body shimmer, flicker in and out of view as my body was encased in a bright flash of light, and slowly fade away. I tinged all over, my stomach tugged, and when I saw my body come back into focus and raised my head, I was inside the Cave.

I grinned. I could go through the zeta tubes a billion times and never get tired of it.

I looked around, double-checking to make sure that my friends weren't there, even though Bats and Canary assured me they wouldn't be. Satisfied, I made my way through the hallways and took the familiar path leading to the Mission Room. Batman was there, black leather costume reflecting the light from the Cave's computer.

I cleared my throat, removing the mask I had to wear during my stay in the hospital and stuffed it into my pocket.

Batman didn't even turn around, but his change in stance told me he heard me. Usually I'd pop in front of him and demand he pay attention to me, but not today. Today my nerves were so completely on edge I was afraid to do little more than breath.

"Ready?" Batman's voice was so unexpected it made me jump.

I said something really intelligent back to him, like "Err...dur?"

Batman looked at me funny.

"I mean...yeah, I'm ready." I stammered, struggling to regain my composure.

"Good." Batman turned back around. "They're in the next hallway on the right, three doors down. Near the storage rooms."

I hesitated briefly, feeling a childish desire to ask Batman to come with me. I wondered if it was too late to call Canary in for support, but that would make me look stupid. The guys weren't here, I wanted to surprise them with my homecoming. Plus, I needed privacy for what was about to come.

Sighing, I left Batman alone with his computer and set my feet on auto pilot towards the room Bats identified for me. My head turned over memories as I walked, not all of them good. Most of them included crying, regardless of the nature of said memories.

I stopped in front of the door. It was gray, probably made of some kind of metal. The doorknob glinted in the light. It was just a door, dull in appreance and importance. The room was originally designed for interrogations, but since the team has taken exactly zero hostages since its creation and the League hasn't used the Cave for their HQ in forever, Batman decided to use it for this.

My hand closed around the knob, the metal feeling cool against my sweaty palm, and turned it slowly. When I mustered up the courage to pull it open the whole way, revealing what was inside, I nearly cried out in shock and joy. Two kids, two men, and a teenager sat around a table, laughing and joking around like they were at a party.

When they saw me, everyone fell silent.

My eyes fell on the most familiar person in the room: Cameron Mahkent. He smiled at me, and gestured for me to come closer. I wanted to, but the muscles in my legs seemed to be dysfunctional at the moment. The next was Mike, holding a pen and a half-finished drawing of Mickey Mouse on a notepad.

The kids were my siblings: Dakota and Tyler. Tyler looked a little sleepy, but he was looking at me with wide, curious, mismatched eyes. My sister's ebony colored hair was drew back up into a ponytail, her eyes sparkled when she looked at me.

But somehow my mind passed over them and focused in on the last man: a good-looking, muscular guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked at me like I was an angel: awed, shocked, teary-eyed, regretful of all the bad things he had done, like leaving a small girl to sink or swim on her own.

It was my Dad. Not the one whose genes I unfortunately inherited, but the one I called Daddy. The one who was too scared of my Mom to defy her. The one I loved more than life itself. The one who abandoned me eight years ago.

It was Jason.

"D...Dad." I croaked.

"Jill..." He breathed.

Before I could get in another word, Jason rushed over to me and engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug. I could barely breath, but I couldnt care less about a stupid thing like oxygen at the moment. I buried my face into his shoulder and fought back tears. Partly because I was happy to see him and partly because he was bumping the wound on my chest.

"Jill, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you there alone with her. I should've taken you with me...I should've done..._something_. I'm so sorry..."

I squeezed him back as hard as I could. "It's alright. I turned out okay."

"No, it's _not_ okay. I'm a jerk." he pulled away, holding me at arm's length so he could look at me.

I shrugged. "I'm not mad at you, Dad. Mom? Yes. You? No."

"I know, I don't know how or why, but your not..." he shook his head. "My God you're beautiful."

I smiled. Dad always had this way of saying things that made me feel like a princess, I guess he didn't lose that talent.

Something tugged on my shirt, I looked down and saw a tiny hand locked onto my shirttail. The hand was connected to an equally small body: It was Tyler.

"Your the one who went away, right?" He asked.

At first, I didn't understand what he meant.

"I'm sorry, buddy, what?" I frowned.

"You went away 'cause Mommy was mean to you, and you became a hero, and you came back." he blinked.

"You _are_ back, right?"

"Yeah, Ty." I reached down and scooped him up in my arms.

"I'm back, and I promise I'll never leave you again."

Ty grinned. Playfully, I dug my fingers into his ribcage and tickled him until he broke down into a fit of giggles.

"Guys." I said, smile fading as I looked at my siblings.

"I'm sorry I left you. I...I didn't want to. But Mom..."

Dakota raised her hand, cutting me off. "Look, Jill, it's okay. Our Mom's a she-demon, that's not your fault."

I smiled, relieved she didn't blame me. Ty wriggled in my arms, aI I sat him back down. Ty flipped the hair out of his eyes with his hands, prompting me to notice his...interesting...choice of hair styles. Clearing my throat, I glanced up at Kota.

"Why does our little brother have a mullet?"

Kota shrugged, but Ty puffed out his little chest and said. "Business in the front, party in the back."

He proudly ran his hand through his hair and grinned.

"Yeah, you're definitely related to me." I smiled, drawing him back into a hug.

Before the small boy could react, I turned him around and clamped my hands over his ears.

"We're getting the boy a decent haircut ASAP." I rolled my eyes, releasing Ty's head and flashing him a fake smile.

"Jill." Cameron cleared his throat. "Batman's probably waiting for us."

"Did he tell you why he wanted to have a talk with just the two of us?" I asked.

Cameron paled. "He didn't tell you?"

"No." I blinked. "Why didn't you ask him?"

"I was so relieved that he wasn't gonna ship me back to prison I didn't think to ask! So sue me!" he indignantly threw his hands into the air.

"He's Batman. Even if I asked, do you really think he'd give me a straight answer?" I crossed my arm.

Cam just shrugged.

With a sigh, I gave everyone another hug and pulled Cameron to the door. Literally pulled, I think Cam may be a tad bit incredibly, unreasonably scared of the Bat. As soon as my hand touched the doorknob, my Dad materialized beside us.

"Mind if I tag along?" he smiled winningly at me.

I arched an eyebrow. "Why...?"

He grabbed my hand. "I just found you again, you think I'm gonna let you go that easily?"

I smiled. "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with wanting to see more of the Cave and getting to meet Batman?"

He blushed. "Well, there's that."

"Fine." I shook my head at him. "But no more tagalongs." I said, seeing the hopeful expressions of Mike and my siblings out of the corner of my eye.

"Aw..." they whined.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna get in a world of trouble just for bringing him." I jerked my thumb at Dad.

"I test Batman's patience on a daily basis, but even I know that'd be a bad idea."

"Mike, can you take the kids home for me? I mean, Batman is probably going to send someone to take them, us, home, but I can't exactly find a babysitter on such short notice." he shrugged.

"Sure, it's not like I'm gonna be touring an ultra cool superhero base any time soon..." he muttered.

"Home?" I turned back to Dad. "What're you talking about?"

"I got custody of Kota and Ty." he smiled, opening the door for me.

"I was going to draw up the paperwork for you too, but..."

"I'm under JL custody, unofficially, of course. If you want official custody, I suppose you could ask Batman about it." I said, leading the pair through the hall.

"_Me_ ask _him_? Are you crazy?" Dad's eyes widened.

"Alright, crybaby, I'll ask for you." I teased.

"Come on, kid, he's the goddamn Batman!" he defended.

"He's not that bad." I said. "A little spooky, can be moody when you defy his authority. Which I do about every other day. But he's not that bad."

When we got close to the Mission Room, Cameron's courage packed up its things and flew to Mexico.

"Umm, Jill. I forgot. I have...things I gotta get done. Cold things. Yes, very cold things." He tried to make a break for it.

I caught his arm. "Might I remind you that you're wanted in about 56 different countries and have a rap sheet ten miles long _and_ a special spot on the League's most wanted list?"

"You're exaggerating. My rap sheet is only five miles long." he pouted, but stopped trying to escape the Cave.

Rolling my eyes, I lead them the rest of the way into the Mission Room and held my breath, waiting for all hell to break loose.

Seriously, putting Batman and Icicle Junior together in the same room without some kind of barrier between them sounds like a bad idea. I imagined it would go something like this: Batman says something, Cameron mouths off, and I have to clean bits of Cam up of the floor before he leaves a stain.

What really happened was decidedly better.

Cameron didn't say a word throughout the whole conversation, and Batman barely acknowledged him.

"Hey, Jill." Wally grinned as soon as we stepped through the doorway.

I blinked in surprise. "But I thought we were gonna make my homecoming a surprise."

"There was a change of plans." he said simply, glancing over at my dad briefly with narrowed eyes.

I groaned. This was Bats getting back at me for being a brat all those times, I just knew it.

Conner and Kaldur eyed Cameron warily, but said nothing. Megan was too busy talking about a homecoming party to care, and Artemis's eyes were wandering over to a particular member of our team, who just kept smiling and chatting with Robin.

I rolled my eyes. That boy is completely oblivious to everything.

Said boy started shoving candy bars down his throat.

I cocked me head slightly. Maybe he's not oblivious, maybe he's just stupid.

"I suppose your wondering why I asked you to bring your..._friend_...here." Batman interrupted.

I shrugged, Cameron looked ready to bolt , and Dad just stared at everyone like we'd grown extra limbs or something. By the way, only one of us can actually do that and she doesn't do it very often anymore because of that one time she nearly gave me a heart attack when she decided to hold everything needed for dinner instead of using the freaking counters like _sane_ people...Shut up! It was very traumatizing. I had nightmares for weeks!

"I think you just wanted to scare the crap out of Cam." smiled.

Cam glared at me.

"I'm going to propose something to you, regarding Junior and the Highwaykids."

"I'm willing to bet your proposition will end better than mine did." I smiled sheepishly.

Batman didn't say anything, but I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twinge upwards for a moment. Although it might have just been a trick of the light.

"Your friends, the Highwaykids, are too much like you, Commando. Stubborn, headstrong..."

"Completely and totally awesome." I finished for him.

"Point is, I realize now they cannot be trusted to completely give up their old lives. Much like you. So I thought it would be best to have them channel their energies into something positive."

I blinked, not understanding. "I don't follow you."

"I'm going to employ another group of young people to help with the growing supervillain threat. I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of the Light."

My eyes widened. "The Highwaykids? All of them?"

"Not Max of course, maybe in a few years." He said. "But yes, everyone else will be including."

"And Cameron?"

"He and Lily could be co-leaders of sorts, I suppose."

I turned to Cam. "You up for this, buddy?"

"If it means I don't have to go back to prison I'm up for anything." He grinned.

"You, of course, will remain part of this team." Batman finished. I swore I say Robin let out a sigh, like he was relieved about something.

"So, is this new team gonna have a name?" Cameron asked.

"The Suicide Squad." I grinned.

"Why that name?" Conner frowned.

I shrugged. "Sound cool."

"There is another matter we need to discuss." Batman held up a sheaf of papers.

"Shoot." I crossed my arms over my chest. I thought there was nothing he could possibly say to ruin my mood.

Like many times in my short and pathetic life I was wrong.

"It's seems that right after your mother's unexpected release from prison, she and Luthor...how do I put it...got...eloped."

Everybody fell silent. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Eloped." I breathed. "As in, married."

Batman nodded.

"She and Luthor. Together. Married."

"Yes."

Silence.

Outwardly, I was completely stoic. In my head, however, I imagined a little chibi version of me widening it's eyes as its head slowly swelled up like a balloon and exploded with a monstrous roar leaving behind a smoking burn mark where the neck should be or something dramatic like that.

"Um..." Cameron tugged on my elbow when a minute or so had passed and I hadn't moved.

"Are you alright?"

Calmly, I turned towards him and let a grin spread over my face that would rival the Joker's.

"Oh, yeah, I'm golden, peachy, awesome, everything going exactly as planned. I. Am. Good."

"Oh. Okay then."

I'm not sure what made me snap. Maybe it was the build-up shock, anger, and disgust of learning that Luthor and my mom did...that...thing. Or maybe it was Cam's easy acceptance of my really lame lie, but I do know that as soon as the words left his mouth I started flipping the fuck out.

"NO I'M NOT ALRIGHT YOU IDIOT! WHAT KIND OF STUPID QUESTION IS THAT?" I screamed.

Later, I felt bad for yelling at him and apologized. But at the moment I couldn't care less.

"Chill, okay." He put his hands on my shoulders.

"Chill? Is that supposed to be funny? The ice-meta telling someone to chill! Oh, you're just so freaking hilarious!"

"Commando, calm down. This isn't a bad thing. Actually, considering both Luthor and your mother are going to prison for a very, very long time, this is the best thing that could ever happen to you." Batman's voice boomed across the room.

"What d'you mean?" Furious, I shrugged off Cam and turned on Bats.

"Luthor is worth a lot of money, Commando. You know that better than most. He's never going to get out of prison, he won't be able to hurt anyone ever again."

Anger fading, my muscles relaxed as Bat's words sunk in. "Never?"

"Not as long as I'm alive." He assured me.

"Okay..." I took a deep breath, I counted to ten, and forced myself to calm the hell down.

"That's nice and all, Bats, but how is that the best thing that could ever happen to me?"

"Think, Commando. Technically, he's your stepfather. He has no biological children. He and his wife are in prison, on a life sentance."

I shrugged.

"Let me put it this way, what would happen if he had an heir?"

"The kid would get all his money and property and stuff." I said. "But I still don't follow you."

Batman let me figure it out myself.

My eyes widened. "He doesn't have any kids..."

I looked up, not entirety sure if I as awake or dreaming. "But he does have stepkids."

"Exactly. All Luthor's money, property, and other assets shall be divided up between you and your two siblings. You won't be able to utilize it until you turn eighteen, same goes for Dakota and Tyler. Until then, I'll look after the money for you. If you need some funding for school, then of course I'll allow you to make a deposit. Don't think you'll be able to get everything you desire. I fully expect to teach you the value of a dollar...Commando...?"

I was barely listening to him, I was so stunned. I was dreaming. I had to be. Luthor is...was...filthy rich. Even split up into thirds, the fortune was enormous. Plus, Luthor owed entire garages full of designer cars, private islands and resorts, several mansions and even a medieval castle or two. You name it, that selfish jackass has it.

Or had.

"This...this is a joke, right? You're screwing with me?" I frowned.

"No joke, Commando. This is real."

Cameron clapped me on the back, but I barely felt it, my whole body was numb. I pinched my arm, just to be sure. Wake up time, brain, get back to reality. This kind of thing could never happen to you. Never in a million years.

You are awake, my brain insisted. This _is_ reality.

"Whoa..." I breathed.

For a second I saw it. I saw my future. I could have my Highwaykids, my family, Cameron, a fortune to do with as I pleased, everything. If I didn't get excepted into the JL, so what? I could always go to to newly formed Squad, or maybe even hang up my cloak for good and move in with my siblings and Dad. Or better yet, have them move in with me. I had my pick of mansions, after all. I could go to school. Not the one in Happy Harbor that Conner and Megan go to, I could go to a fancy private school if I wanted. What's that Gotham school that Grayson goes to? The Wayne Academy? Sure I'd have to wear a uniform. But it'd be worth it to be able to torment Rohin almost all the time. I get a diploma from there and I could dance naked in the middle of New York and they'd let me into Harvard.

For once in my life, it seemed like my future was paved with gold, literally. The only thing that could make this better is if I had a boyfriend. And trust me, I plan on correcting that. Very, very soon. Is he annoying? Yeah. But in the hospital he proved he could be bearable. All I needed to do was gently tell him my father killed his family, and pray he accepts that I am nothing like Zucco. I was going to tell him, when I learned he was Richard Grayson that day in the hospital room. But I looked at him and suddenly I was staring at a crying nine-year-old little boy that just had everyone he loved taken away from him, and I...I chickened out.

Come on, can you blame me? The Flying Grayson's murder was all over the news for weeks. When I started picturing Robin as poor little newly-orphaned Dick, I was taken back to when I first learned what Tony Zucco, my father, had done. I was nine, and Lily had appeared before me saying she had to tell me something. She was one of the few people in the world who knew the truth about my father. At first, I'd said nothing. Then I slowly and purposely made my way over to a bucket and puked for about half an hour. I was disgusted with him, and with myself for being related to him. I'd wanted to just curl up and die, I didn't eat or sleep at all until I heard that Richard, the only Grayson not caught in the 'accident' had been taken in by billionaire Bruce Wayne. I'd been happy for him, because I knew he'd be well taken care of. Maybe I was also a tad jealous, because Tony Zucco had destroyed my life, too, and I was living on the streets. I got over it quick, the kid had been separated from his family forever by tragedy, not by choice like I was.

Still, I had to tell him. It was only right.

I never got the chance.

"Oh, Jill, I almost forgot, your mother had your last name changed back." Dad said, his voice unintentionally loud as he settled his hand into my shoulder.

Red-faced, I tried to shush him, but the guy just wasn't getting the hint.

In the end, it was Wally who screwed me over.

"Back? What's he talking about?" Wally frowned, clearly confused.

I didn't want to lie, so I didn't. I just left out some key details.

"Oh, she probably had my surname officially changed to match my father's. Another way to hurt me, I suppose. When I was born, my mom wrote his last name on my birth certificate. But when I was ten days old, Dad convinced her to chance it to Jackson." I smiled, hoping he'd just let the matter drop.

"What was your biological Dad's name?" Wally asked, curious.

Everyone was looking at me, my eyes darted over to Batman for support. I wanted him to tell them to shut up or something, but all he did was mouth the word 'lie.' I got mad at him. Lie? What kind of help was that? But then I realized if he said anything at all the others would get suspicious. I couldn't just tell the truth either. Not like this. Part of me wishes they'd heard me say Zucco's name when I'd said my goodbyes during the whole bomb fiasco, but Batman had edited that part out when he showed it to them. He said he didn't want anything to taint my memory.

See, even _Batman_ knows it'd be a bad idea for me to reveal my parentage.

"Oh, I don't remember. I don't think it really matters, either." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Jill, how could you not remember? Your mother told you his name a thousand times." Dad frowned at me.

"I was only five, Dad."

"Still..." He shook his head.

Then Dad, my wonderful, oblivious Dad turned to Wally and said:

"Zucco. Her father's name is Tony Zucco."

The mood in the room went to light and happy to awkward and heavy.

"Zucco?" Robin pushed his way over to me. "As in, _the_ Tony Zucco?"

"I..." I didnt know what to say.

"Commando's lineage means nothing." Batman intervened. "Especially not to you, Robin."

"You can cut the act, Batman." Robin's eyes narrowed. "_She_ knows."

Batman looked surprised, then furious. He'd told Rob not to reveal his secret ID to anybody, and he'd allowed me to discover it. I wanted to scream at Bats, his little birdie's real name was the least of our concerns at the moment. At least, it was the last of my concerns.

Kaldur said nothing, because I'd revealed my father's identity to him a long time ago, making him promise not to say anything. Artemis's father is ten times worse that mine ever was, and besides, we'd known each other back then. We weren't friends, not exactly, but she stopped her dad from sticking a knife in my skull when I was eleven so I guess we were cool. Megan looked sympathetic, which almost killed me as much as Robin's anger did. I didn't need pity. Conner was expressionless, arguably the best reaction out of all of them. Wally was shocked, probably because only he fully realized why this was such a bombshell.

"You lied to me!" Robin stabbed a finger into my chest.

I took a step back, running the sore spot tenderly. I didn't think he meant to hit my gunshot wound, although I couldn't be certain of what he meant at the moment.

"What was I supposed to do, Dick?" I snapped. "He's a monster. I didn't want you to look at me as a monster too."

"You lied..." He shook his head, bristling with anger and hurt.

"I'm sorry, I was going to tell you, but..."

"But you thought it'd be better to keep me in the dark!" he growled.

"No! It wasn't like that!" I put my hand on his shoulder.

He jerked away from me. "Was it all a lie, Commando? Everything you said in the hospital? On the way _to_ the hospital."

I blushed, remembering. I'd been delusional from the blood loss, but I do remember falling him cute.

Did I mean it? Everything? Yes. Oh, God, yes.

"Dick, I meant every word.."

"Then why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"I was scared, okay?." I admitted. "I was scared of what you'd think of me."

"Oh, come on, you hate me!" He screeched.

I shook my head. "No. I never hated you."

"I don't hate you either, Commando." He narrowed his eyes.

"But I can't trust you. I can't trust a single thing you tell me ever again."

My eyes stung, my whole body shook with anger and hurt. It wasn't fair! I can't help who my father is. I had just as much say in the Grayson massacre as Robin did. My heart felt like it was made of ice, my chest felt like someone had punched me directly in the still-healing wound. I wanted to throw up.

It didn't take long for me to get really, really, mad. How dare he patronize me! It's none of his business who I am and who my family is. HOW DARE HE!

My good arm tensed, before I could stop myself I pulled it back and punched Robin straight in the force blew him clear off his feet, he landed on his back and groaned in pain. My first thought was to apologize, but then I realized I wasn't sorry. No, I wanted to hit him again and again and again until he saw what was right in front of him.

Robin looked up at me, more surprised than hurt, a dark bruise was starting to form on his jaw and his lip was split open.

Furious, I took a deep breath and kept raging.

"YOU'RE SO CLUELESS, DICK! I DIDN'T TELL YOU THE TRUTH BECAUSE I _LIKE_ YOU, YOU INSENSITIVE JACKASS!"

With that, I whirled around and ran. Didn't know where, didn't really care. Tears of anger and regret blinded me, I'm lucky I didn't run right off the side of the mountain. When I finally stopped and wiped the tears from my eyes I realized I had made my way to the beach.

Waves lapped gently at the sandy shore. The remains of my latest sand fortress laid in ruins, seashells and dead jellyfish dotted the shoreline. Absently, I made my way over to the volleyball net and plucked the forgotten ball of the ground. I was never into volleyball, and truth be told I kind of sucked, but it didn't matter when we played, we were friends. Besides, Wally was worse than I was unless he used his powers. Which, as we often told him, is cheating.

Bored, I let the ball fall into the wet sand and sat down beside it, sticking my feet into the cold water. February was far too cold to be swimming in the ocean, but it was all I could do not to plunge headfirst into the water. I wanted to feel weightless and free, at least for a moment.

Why was I so obsessed with Dick? I mean, I've had boyfriends. I know I'm not unattractive. There was Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Terry McGinnis, Damian, whose last name escapes me at the moment, I think it started with a W...Why couldn't I let this one go?

I heard him approach, but I didn't look up.

He cleared his throat.

I rolled my eyes.

"Go away, Cam." I snapped.

Instead, Cameron sat down in the sand beside me.

"So...?" he put a hand on my back.

"So..." I shrugged.

"You like the bird boy?"

I traces patterns in the sand with my index finger, one of which being a small bird. My finger stopped, went back, and scribbled the design out of existence.

"Not anymore." I muttered bitterly.

I expected Cameron to say 'okay' and drop the issue. Instead, he scooted closer to me and said. "Liar."

I scowled. "Shut up, Cam."

"Come on, kid, talk to me." he turned my face towards him with his hand.

I shooed his hand away and said. "Okay, yeah, I like him. Still do. But after that...he'll never feel the same way."

Cameron quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Well, yeah, you heard what he said." I looked down at my now soaked sneakers.

"He was angry and upset. I don't think he meant it."

I sniffed. "Whatever..."

"Give him awhile to calm down and talk it out. If your serious about this kid, you need to do a little more than just punch him in the jaw and run off."

"I believe it got his attention." I smiled a little.

Cam nodded. "That it did."

There was a moment of silence. I redrew the sand-bird, this time shading it and adding detail so it resembled a robin.

"Hey, this may sound...awkward...but uh, have you ever had 'The Talk' before?" He stammered.

"No, and I don't plan on it." I rolled my eyes at him.

"This is all you need to know..." He began, looping an arm around my shoulder.

"Clearly it doesn't matter what I want." I sighed.

"Whatever you do, _don't_ have sex!" He grabbed my shoulders and turned me towards him.

"If you have sex, you will get pregnant and _die_! DON'T HAVE SEX!" he shook me for emphasis.

"Cam, you're starting to scare me." I pried his fingers from my shirt.

"_Good_!" He stared deep into my eyes like a psycho "Be afraid...Be very afraid..."

With that, he stood, patted me on the head and started to leave.

"One more thing." he turned. "You want me to kick his ass for you?"

I smiled faintly, looking down at the sand again. "Naw..."

"Why?"

"Cause your skinny. And rely too much on your powers..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm worried that Robin would hurt you." I smirked.

Huffing, he made his way back to the Cave.

I shook my head, exasperated. I love Cam, but he can be a major dork.

I don't know how long I sat there, an hour or two maybe, but when the sun started to go down I heard someone trot down the beach and come towards me. Assuming it was Cameron again, I let them get close. Good thing too, if I knew who it was at the time I probably would've gotten up and moved to Russia.

"Hey, Cam, what do you want now?" I asked, only half-paying attention.

"Um..." the voice mumbled.

My eyes snapped open. Robin.

In a flash, I stood and made a break for it. Robin caught my arm, I yanked against him.

"Jill, please, hear me out."

Not sure if it were the tone in his voice or Rob's use of my real name, but I stayed.

"First of all." He took a deep breath. "Im sorry."

"For what? Making me feel like crap, telling me you don't trust me, being an ass..." I started counting offenses on my fingers.

"All of it." He still hadn't let go of my arm.

"So?" I snapped.

"You want me to forgive you so we can go back to being cool with each other for a few days and then you turn right back around, throw all our relationship progress out the window, and treat me like shit?"

I shook my head. "No thanks, not interested."

I"Jill..." He sighed. "I thought about what I said, and...and what you said...and I called up Canary..."

I raised my eyebrows at the last part and Robin blushed. "Yeah, I know, big mistake on my part."

"And?" I rolled my eyes. If he didn't get to the point soon I was going to deck him again.

"And we talked. Jill, when I thought you were dead I nearly had an emotional breakdown. I realized...I realized that I like you. But I thought you were gone so it didn't really matter. And then Cameron showed up, telling me you survived the blast. I felt like doing cartwheels right there in that store. But I had to save you, and I was almost too late..." His voice cracked.

I softened, just a bit. Robin sounded truthful, but then again so does a conman right before he robs you of everything you have. I'm no fool, I had to be sure he wasn't just playing me before I completely opened my heart to him.

"I was gonna tell you. About my dad, when we were in the hospital."

"I kinda wish you had."

I just shrugged.

"And when I learned you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth about your father...I was hurt."

"So your plan was to retaliate by hurting me and telling me that you didn't trust me anymore?" I frowned.

"Yeah." He looked down. "Anger made me say some stupid things. I'm sorry."

I sighed, eyes closed.

When they opened again, I knew what I had to do.

"I want to believe you, Dick. I really, really do. But...You cut me deep. Real deep. I can't just accept your apology and move on unless I'm sure you really mean it..."

Robin winced, looked down, and then back up at me. Something about his demeanor has changed. He stepped forward, looping his arm around my waist.

"Dick..." I frowned. "What are you...?"

Then he kissed me, and I have to admit it was the greatest way anybody's ever shut me up. And the quickest. He wasn't the first boy I'd kissed, and by the calibre of skill Dick portrayed I'm willing to bet I'm not the first girl's he's kissed, but _damn_, he was definitely the best. When his lips touched mine it felt like he send a spark running down my spine.

"Convinced yet?" He smiled, pulling away.

"Almost." I smiled back.

"I like you, Jill." Dick put his arms around my shoulders.

"I like you too, Dick." I returned the embrace.

"So..." He looked up at the Cave. "Should we be heading back?"

"Naw..." I shook my head. "They've seen enough of us for awhile. Let's stay here for a bit longer."

"And do what?" He arched an eyebrow at me.

"They say a couple's first kiss is special. Personally I find the second or third to be slightly more memorable." I grinned.

"You're a freak." he playfully rolled his eyes at me.

"Come on, Dick. Don't be a stupid."

"Um...Jill? I'm pretty sure stupid is not a noun."

I shrugged. "If you get to mess with the English Language, so can I."

THE END

* * *

><p>Alright, I know most of you are gonna hate me for ending the story like this, but hey if I ever do a sequel. Not sure if I will or not, I have a good place to pick up at. Plus, come on, I can't continue this story forever. Believe me, this is not the last time you ever hear of me. :D<p>

Yes, I named every other male Robin as ex-boyfriends of Commando:D Plus Terry, because I feel he counts.

If I disappointed anybody with the kiss scene, sorry, but there are only so many words you can use before it starts to get creepy. Plus, they're thirteen, and you all know a sexual inneudneo is attached to everything.

The suicide squad's name is borrowed from a group of ex-criminals from the comics.

Very last Random for this story *sniffles*:

The ship wars are going strong. Fueled by their hatred over lack of YJ, shippers from all over have taken up arms. The Wally/Robin ship has taken a beating after the Zatanna/Rob ship joined the battlefield. The minority ships such as Aqualad/Artemis have set up bunkers underground to regroup and tend to their wounded. The Spitfire and Supermartian ships, who should be forming an alliance because of their lack of reason to hate one another, are currently wrapped up in a bloody side battle. the Slashers are building their armies back up to launch another attack, hopefully to claw their way back onto this twisted chess board of a war. The rebel alliance, which I am a proud member of, sneak their way through the fandom helping where they can. Sadly, we are hopelessly outnumbered. But we are unafraid! We stand strong and brave and arn't scared to tell people their being stupid.

That is basically my obnoxious way of saying ship wars are idiotic. :D


	44. Note: SEQUEL

**Alright**, **people, listen up: I've started working on a sequel to Legend of Commando. I'm still not completely sure I love the summary I gave it, even though I've already changed it once since I posted it...yesterday. So any suggestions for that are welcome. It's set during season two, so obviously Commando is older. She's more mature, but don't worry, she's still going be the same sarcastic little bag of angst she's always been :)**

**I've heard rumors that there's going to be another time skip for season three *Cue agonized screaming* it may just be a rumor, but if it does happen I promise I'll make another Commando fic for it. Kinda like a series :)**

**But, I do need help. Because I wanted to post it for Father's Day, I did not plan out the rest of the fic. I honestly don't know where I'm going to take it, so I'd appreciate suggestions.**

**And I do need help picking who the main villian is going to be, so *grins***

**For the readers who already know about the sequel, um...thanks? :)**


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